Stressful People in Your Life Could Be Adding Months To Your Biological Age

Source: Slashdot

Study Overview

A recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) examined how people who regularly cause problems or make life difficult—referred to by the researchers as “hasslers”—affect the biological aging of those around them. The analysis used DNA‑methylation–based epigenetic clocks and ego‑centric network data from a state‑representative probability sample of 2,345 adults in Indiana, ages 18 to 103.

• Prevalence of hasslers: Nearly 29 % of respondents reported at least one hassler in their close network.
• Data sources: Epigenetic aging measures derived from DNA methylation, combined with self‑reported network information.

Key Findings

• Accelerated biological aging: Each additional hassler was associated with a ~1.5 % faster epigenetic aging rate, translating to roughly nine months of extra biological age compared with same‑age peers who had no hasslers.
• Relationship type matters:
  • Family members who were hasslers showed the strongest and most consistent links to accelerated aging.
  • Spouses who were hasslers did not show a significant effect on either epigenetic measure.
• Broader health impacts: Every extra hassler correlated with higher levels of:
  • Depression and anxiety severity
  • Body‑mass index (BMI)
  • Inflammatory markers
  • Multimorbidity (the presence of multiple chronic conditions)
• Comparison with smoking: When benchmarked against smoking—a major behavioral risk factor for aging—the hassler effect corresponded to roughly 13 %–17 % of smoking’s estimated impact on the same epigenetic clocks.

Implications

The findings suggest that the social environment, specifically the presence of stressful or antagonistic individuals, can have measurable physiological consequences for those around them. Interventions aimed at reducing exposure to “hasslers” or mitigating their impact may help slow biological aging and improve overall health outcomes.