Does renting make you age faster?
It’s the hallmark of the American Dream—owning your own home. With inflation and high interest rates in the aftermath of the global economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, homeownership seems like an unattainable goal for some. Even more worrisome, what if it has an impact on your health?
Firstly, let’s go into detail about the difference between your chronological and biological ages. Your chronological age, of course, is the number of candles on your birthday cake—it’s how you introduce yourself when asked, How old are you?. But the term “biological age” refers to how fast one is aging, and the speed of one’s biological aging is directly linked with the chances of developing chronic illness and poorer overall health.
In a study published in the British Medical Journal, researchers discovered a correlation between renting a home and the speed of biological aging. Scientists determined a person’s biological age through epigenetics, the study of how our own DNA changes in response to environmental factors. In this case, it is renters’ increased stress that leads to the methylation, or addition of what’s called a methyl group, of certain genes that drive biological aging.
The study concluded that those who rent “age” significantly faster than those who own their physical home. In fact, simply renting can make you age faster than being unemployed or even being a former smoker. There is a silver lining: those who rented through governmentally-subsidized means did not age faster than homeowners. And the effects of biological age, unlike chronological age, are completely reversible, meaning that changes in housing policy or status can certainly play an impact on how you biologically age. As we come further from the COVID-19 pandemic, housing conditions are sure to improve, so don’t lose hope.
Author: Arjun Puri
Reference: Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. (2023). Study Title. Retrieved from https://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2023/08/17/jech-2023-220523
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