Research published in Nature Aging by the University of Minnesota Medical School highlights a connection between social and psychological stress and accelerated aging through shared biological mechanisms. The study reveals that social stress damages DNA and leads to cellular senescence in the brain, specifically affecting neurons in the hippocampus and cortex. This evidence suggests that stress in social settings can contribute to the aging process.
Alessandro Bartolomucci, a professor and senior author of the study, emphasizes that previous research established a correlation between life stress, low socioeconomic status, and adverse health outcomes, but mechanisms were difficult to identify in humans. This study represents an initial step in uncovering how life stress impacts aging, notably through increased markers of cellular senescence tied to DNA damage.
Future research aims to further explore how stress influences various biological aging mechanisms and whether targeting these could mitigate the adverse health effects associated with stress on aging. The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging and the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Molecular Genomics.
