summary: A new study suggests that the loss of a close family member may accelerate biological aging. Researchers found that people who lose a parent, partner, sibling, or child show signs of advanced biological age.
The effect was measured using a DNA marker called the epigenetic clock.The study highlights the long-term impact that lifelong grief and loss can have on health.
Key Facts:
- Grief from losing a close family member accelerates biological aging.
- This effect is measured using a DNA marker called the epigenetic clock.
- Losses experienced in childhood or early adulthood have a profound impact.
sauce: Columbia University
Losing a loved one may accelerate the aging process, according to a new study from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and the Butler-Columbia Center on Aging.
Studies have found that people who have lost a parent, partner, sibling or child show signs of being older biologically than those who have not experienced such a loss.
This study JAMA Network Open.
Biological aging is the gradual decline in cell, tissue and organ function and increased risk of chronic disease. Scientists measure this type of aging using DNA markers called the epigenetic clock.
“Few studies have examined how losing a loved one at different stages of life affects these DNA markers, especially in study samples that are representative of the U.S. population,” said Allison Aiello, PhD, the James S. Jackson Professor of Healthy Longevity in Epidemiology and lead author of the study.
“Our study shows a strong association between the loss of loved ones throughout life, from childhood through adulthood, and accelerated biological aging in the United States.”
The study, conducted in collaboration with the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, suggests that the effects of loss on aging can be seen long before midlife and may contribute to health differences among racial and ethnic groups.
The researchers used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, which began in 1994 and 1995 and followed participants from their teenage years through adulthood.
To measure childhood or adolescent family loss from a longitudinal study, Aiello and his colleagues followed participants at different waves and aging time frames: In wave 1, they surveyed 20,745 adolescents in grades 7 through 12, most of whom were between 12 and 19 years old, and participants have been followed ever since.
The fifth wave took place between 2016 and 2018, completing interviews with 12,300 of the original participants. In the most recent wave, conducted between 2016 and 2018, participants were invited to additional in-home testing, and around 4,500 of those visited provided blood samples for DNA testing.
The study looked at losses experienced during childhood or adolescence (up to age 18) and adulthood (ages 19 to 43). It also looked at the number of losses experienced during this time period.
Biological aging data was assessed from blood DNA methylation using epigenetic clocks including DunedinPACE, developed by Aiello Center for Aging colleague and study co-author Dan Belsky and collaborators at Duke University.
Approximately 40 percent of participants experienced at least one loss during adulthood between the ages of 33 and 43. Parental loss is more common in adulthood than in childhood or adolescence (27 percent vs. 6 percent). Black (57 percent) and Hispanic (41 percent) participants were more likely than white (34 percent) participants to have experienced at least one loss.
Those who had experienced two or more miscarriages had older biological ages according to several epigenetic clocks. Experiencing two or more miscarriages in adulthood was more strongly associated with biological aging than having one miscarriage, and the association was significantly stronger than having no miscarriages at all.
“The association between the loss of a loved one and lifelong health problems is well documented,” Aiello noted, “but we believe that at some stages of life, people may be more vulnerable to loss-related health risks, and that the accumulation of losses appears to be an important factor.”
For example, losing a parent or sibling during childhood can be extremely traumatic and often leads to mental health problems, cognitive impairment, increased risk of heart disease, and an increased likelihood of premature death. Losing close family members at any age carries health risks, and multiple losses increase the risk of heart disease, mortality, and dementia, the effects of which may linger or become apparent long after the event.
Aiello and his co-authors emphasize that while loss at any age can have long-term effects on health, the effects may be more severe during critical developmental periods like childhood and early adulthood.
“It is not yet fully understood why loss leads to poorer health and increased mortality, but biological aging may be one mechanism, as suggested by our study. Future research should focus on finding ways to reduce disproportionate loss among vulnerable groups. For people who experience loss, it is essential to provide resources to help them cope and cope with the trauma,” Aiello concluded.
Co-authors are Aura Ankita Mishra of North Carolina State University, Chantel Martin, Brant Levitt, Kathleen Mullan Harris and Robert Hammer of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Lauren Gaydosh and Debra Amberson of the University of Texas at Austin, and Daniel Belsky of the Columbia Mailman School and Butler Columbia Center on Aging.
Funding: The research was supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities R01MD013349, Add Health, P01 HD31921, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development F32HD103400, with collaboration from 23 other federal agencies and foundations, the National Institute on Aging, U01 AG071448 and U01AG071450, and the Carolinas Population Center, P2CHD050924.
Dan Belsky is the inventor of the DunedinPACE epigenetic clock, which has been licensed to TruDiagnostic.
About this Genetics and Aging Research News
author: Stephanie Berger
sauce: Columbia University
contact: Stephanie Berger – Columbia University
image: Image courtesy of Neuroscience News
Original Research: The survey results are as follows: JAMA Network Open
