stress really does age you but the biological effects ‘can be reversed’, study says
research indicates ageing may be more dynamic than we initially thought — increasing during periods of stress and then bouncing back after recovery.
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a person’s biological age reflects the health of their underlying cells and may be influenced by disease, environmental exposure and lifestyle.
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a new study has shown that it’s possible to turn back the clock, at least when it comes to the effects of stress on your biological age.
the research, published in the journal cell metabolism, found that stressful events, such as surgery, pregnancy and severe cases of covid-19, all increase a person’s biological age but that these effects can be temporary and may resolve during recovery. this is because a person’s biological age, unlike the fixed nature of their chronological age, reflects the health of their underlying cells and tissues and may be influenced by factors such as disease, environmental exposure and lifestyle changes.
“traditionally, biological age has been thought to just go up and up, but we hypothesized that it’s actually much more dynamic,” said jesse poganik, lead author of the study from brigham and women’s hospital in boston. “severe stress can trigger biological age to increase but if that stress is short-lived, the signs of biological aging can be reversed.”
the team of researchers conducted a series of experiments that provided them with a wealth of data on physiological stress. the first analyzed blood samples from elderly patients at three points: immediately before emergency surgery, a few days after surgery and right before they were discharged from the hospital. the second took a similar approach but applied it to pregnant people and mice, taking blood early in the process, just before labour and after giving birth. the third analyzed a series of blood samples from people who were admitted to the icu for covid-19.
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to determine the “biological clock,” or the health of the cells and tissues of participants, the team measured levels of dna methylation — molecular changes that may point to an increased risk of mortality.
their analysis revealed that biological age increased in instances of severe physiological stress but returned to normal after the stressful situation was resolved. in the experiment involving major surgery (for hip fracture), the biological age of participants returned to baseline around four to seven days following surgery. the pattern of a rising and receding biological age was not observed in other, non-trauma related surgeries.
in the experiment involving pregnant people and mice, the team observed a similar pattern: biological age increased throughout pregnancy up until the time of birth and resolved during the postpartum period. in the covid-19 experiment, the biological age of women increased during their hospital stay before being partly reversed by the time of discharge. no significant changes were observed among men with covid-19.
the team acknowledged that their measurements relied on biomarkers in the blood that could be driven by other, as yet unidentified factors. they also found that not all participants recovered their biological age at the same rate or to the same extent as others. they hope that a better understanding how and why this clock works as it does will be a focus of future studies that will help inform the future of anti-aging interventions.
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“our findings challenge the concept that biological age can only increase over a person’s lifetime and suggest that it may be possible to identify interventions that could slow or even partially reverse biological age,” said vadim gladyshev, senior author of the study from brigham’s division of genetics. “when stress was relieved, biological age could be restored. this means that finding ways to help the body recover from stress could increase longevity.”
dave yasvinski is a writer with healthing.ca
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