Losing a loved one can accelerate aging, research shows

Losing someone close to you, such as a family member, can cause you to age faster, according to a new study from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the Butler Columbia Aging Center.

The study found that people who lost a parent, spouse, sibling or child showed signs of an older biological age compared to those who had not experienced such losses. The research was published in JAMA network opened.

Biological aging is the gradual decline in how well your cells, tissues, and organs function, leading to a higher risk of chronic disease. Scientists measure this type of aging using DNA markers known as epigenetic clocks.

“Few studies have looked at how losing a loved one at different stages of life affects these DNA markers, especially in research samples representing the U.S. population,” said Allison Aiello, Ph.D., the James S. Jackson Professor of Longevity of health. in Epidemiology and lead author of the study. “Our study shows strong links between losing loved ones across the lifespan from childhood to adulthood and faster biological aging in the US”

The study, a collaboration with the Carolina Population Center at UNC Chapel Hill, suggests that the impact of loss on aging is evident well before middle age and may contribute to health disparities among racial and ethnic groups.

The researchers used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, which began in 1994-95. It followed participants from their teenage years into adulthood.

To measure familial loss during childhood or adolescence from the longitudinal study, Aiello and colleagues followed participants through different waves and aging periods.

In Wave I, 20,745 adolescents in grades 7 through 12 were surveyed, most of whom were between 12 and 19 years old. The participants have been followed ever since. Wave V took place between 2016 and 2018 and conducted interviews with 12,300 of the original participants. In the last wave, between 2016 and 2018, participants were invited for an additional home exam in which blood was taken for DNA testing from the almost 4,500 people visited.

The study looked at losses experienced during childhood or adolescence (up to 18 years old) and adulthood (19 to 43 years old). They also examined the number of losses suffered during this period. Biological aging data was assessed based on blood DNA methylation using epigenetic clocks, including DunedinPACE, which was developed by Aiello’s Aging Center colleague and study co-author Dan Belsky and his collaborators at Duke University.

Nearly 40% of participants experienced at least one loss in adulthood between the ages of 33 and 43. Parental loss was more common in adulthood than in childhood and adolescence (27% vs. 6%). A greater share of Black (57%) and Hispanic (41%) participants experienced at least one loss compared to White participants (34%).

People who suffered two or more losses had an older biological age according to different epigenetic clocks. Experiencing two or more losses in adulthood was more strongly associated with biological aging than one loss and significantly more so than no losses.

“The link between losing loved ones and health problems across the lifespan is well established,” Aiello noted. “But some stages of life may be more vulnerable to the health risks associated with loss, and the accumulation of losses appears to be an important factor.”

For example, losing a parent or sibling at a young age can be very traumatic, often leading to mental health problems, cognitive problems, higher risks of heart disease and a greater chance of dying earlier. Losing a close family member at any age carries health risks, and repeated losses can increase the risks of heart disease, mortality and dementia; and the consequences may persist or become apparent long after the event.

Aiello and her co-authors emphasize that while loss at any age can have long-lasting health consequences, the effects can be more severe during key developmental periods such as childhood or early adulthood.

“We still don’t fully understand how loss leads to poor health and higher mortality, but biological aging may be a mechanism, as our study suggests. Future research should focus on finding ways to reduce disproportionate losses among vulnerable groups. loss, providing resources to cope and address the trauma is essential,” concludes Aiello.

Co-authors are Aura Ankita Mishra, North Carolina State University; Chantel Martin, Brandt Levitt, Kathleen Mullan Harris and Robert Hummer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Lauren Gaydosh and Debra Umberson, University of Texas at Austin; and Daniel Belsky, Columbia Mailman School and Butler Columbia Aging Center.