Emily Chan
New research suggests that suffering the loss of multiple loved ones can cause biological clocks to tick faster, potentially leading to the earlier onset of age-related health issues.
According to a study from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, people who had lost two or more close family members showed signs of accelerated biological aging.
These family members included parents, siblings, partners, or children. The effect could even be seen in adults in their thirties and early forties. This means that grief has a far more significant impact on our bodies than previously thought.
“Our study shows strong links between losing loved ones across the life course from childhood to adulthood and faster biological aging in the U.S.,” said Dr. Allison Aiello, the lead author of the study and a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University.
Biological ages reflect how well the cells in your body are functioning. It’s different from chronological age, which simply measures how long you have been alive. Scientists can calculate biological age with tools called epigenetic clocks.
They look at physiological changes in cells that accumulate over time. Two people of the same chronological age could have very different biological ages depending on their health habits and life experiences.
The researchers examined data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health in a group of Americans.
The study spanned 24 years, and in that time, the participants reported family deaths at five different intervals of the study.
The researchers collected blood samples from almost 4,500 participants in their mid-thirties to early forties.
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