People Who Make Life Difficult Can Accelerate Aging

American and international studies have shown that people who make life difficult—sometimes called “toxic” or stress-inducing individuals - can have a measurable impact on a person’s health and biological aging. The findings were published in respected journals such as PNAS and Psychology Today.

The study involved over 2,300 participants whose social connections and relationships were analyzed. Participants were asked to identify people in their daily lives whose interactions caused stress or negative effects. Biological aging was assessed using saliva samples to study DNA changes (epigenetic markers), which allowed researchers to measure how quickly cells were aging.

Key findings include:

• Each difficult person in a participant’s life increased their biological aging by approximately 1.5%.

• About 28.8% of participants had at least one “toxic” person in their lives.

• Friends and relatives had the strongest effect on aging, more than casual acquaintances.

• On average, participants’ biological age increased by about 9 months over a short period.

Researchers link this effect to chronic stress: constant emotional strain increases the load on the nervous system, disrupts sleep, and promotes inflammation. Over time, this can harm health and accelerate aging.

Bongkyu Lee, Associate Professor of Sociology at New York University and lead author of the study, emphasized

“Negative social relationships can make life harder and accelerate aging.”

Experts recommend managing social interactions carefully, as spending too much time with people who create stress can have lasting effects on health.