Australian scientists point out that stress from rent can speed up aging by 2-8 weeks, faster than smoking or unemployment.
The study was conducted by experts from the University of Adelaide (Australia), published in the British Medical Journal in October 2023, based on the results of a survey of the lives and housing quality of 1,500 British people as well as using DNA data to evaluate each person's aging level.
The survey ensures objective factors, including property ownership (rent or buy); type of house currently lived in; government financial supports; living area and biological age of study participants at the same time.
The results showed that renters age twice as fast as unemployed people, 50% higher than the consequences of smoking. Notably, on average every year, the aging process of boarders increases by 2-8 weeks.
"Problems of not being able to afford rising rents; problems with neighbors and landlords; and discrimination when renting are causes of biological aging," Amy Clare, said the scientist who presided over the study.
He also revealed that cramped living conditions or insufficient heating, environmental pollution, and dust also negatively impact health.
Government-subsidized housing rental cases do not encounter this situation. The reason is that they do not face the same stresses as private tenants regarding money and outside relationships.
In fact, rent prices in Australia are different from the UK or the US, but Giselle Routhier, director of the medical and housing laboratory at NYU Grossman University of Medicine (USA) said that the above findings are not new.
"If staying in a home doesn't make you feel safe and secure, managing daily life is difficult, not to mention medical conditions," Ms. Giselle said.
Although the research results are impressive, the University of Adelaide researchers also emphasized that the publications are only observational and cannot confirm with certainty that rented housing will accelerate the aging process. This process is also influenced by many external factors such as staying up late, eating at night or being lazy.
Minh Phuong (According to Forbes)