Scientists have proved that stress accelerates biological aging, but it can be fixed

A recent study by American and European scientists has shown that physiological stress can suddenly increase a person's biological age, accelerating the aging process. However, they also discovered that this effect could be offset by eliminating stressors and restoring the body.

In their study, which was published in the journal Cell Metabolism, the researchers observed accelerated aging in patients with severe injuries and infections, pregnant women, and mice. However, after the stressors were eliminated and the body recovered, the aging process decreased.

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Many people know their chronological age, which is determined by the number of years since they were born. But biological age can be different, as it reflects the degree of wear and tear on the body and depends on various factors such as genetics, lifestyle, and environment.

Stress, especially chronic stress, is known to accelerate the aging process. However, this study from Harvard Medical School and their colleagues from the United States, Sweden, and Hungary showed that the aging process can be reduced by eliminating stressors and allowing the body to recover.

The researchers investigated how stress affects aging. They analyzed the biological age of nine elderly people with an average chronological age of 80 years, determining it from blood samples taken before hip surgery, the next day, and 4-7 days after surgery. Scientists defined surgery as a stressful event.

It turned out that the patients' aging markers increased on the first day of hospitalization, but returned to their original values before discharge. Planned surgeries did not cause sudden aging, which may be due to less patient stress.

Scientists also focused on the impact of pregnancy, which is a stressful condition for the body. Experiments on mice showed that the body ages faster with pregnancy, but aging markers returned to their original levels after childbirth and recovery. The same effect was observed in women when blood was analyzed before, during, and six weeks after pregnancy.

Studies have also found that serious infections can be associated with accelerated aging. The biological age of 29 elderly people admitted to a hospital intensive care unit with an infection accelerated by 25% during hospitalization. This effect decreased over time, especially in women.

It is possible that any physiological stress causes an acceleration of the aging process, but its effect can be eliminated in a few days of recovery. On the other hand, scientists believe that stress can increase biological age and increase mortality. To reduce biological age and promote longevity, drugs with such properties may be useful.

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