Stanford University and Chinese University of Hong Kong researchers say feeling depressed or lonely can age us faster than smoking. They announced this by compiling a digital model of aging that reveals the importance of psychological health, writes The Guardian. A new study has found that psychological factors, such as feelings of unhappiness or loneliness, add up to 1.65 years to a person's biological age.. " Previous studies suggested that the higher the biological age, the higher the risk of various diseases and the risk of death.. Now researchers say they have created a digital model of aging that reveals the importance of mental health.. " Data for the study was collected from 4,846 adults in 2015 under the China Health and Retirement program.. They included 16 blood biomarkers with cholesterol and glucose levels, participants' gender, and information such as? like their blood pressure, body mass index, and lung function scores. The team then compared people's chronological ages predicted by the model with their actual ages.. The results showed an average difference of almost 5.7 years more or less than the true age of the participant.. The team found that when the model was applied to CHARLS data from another 2,617 Chinese adults with aging-related diseases, those with a history of stroke, liver, and lung disease were predicted to be older than 4,451 healthy adults, compared. The mean effect of these conditions did not increase predicted age by more than 18 months.. However, the team found other factors that affect the rate of aging.. " Taking care of your mental health is the biggest contribution a person can make to slowing down the rate of aging, scientists say.. The team also reports that people who smoke are predicted to be 15 months older than their nonsmoking peers, and marriage reduces biological age by about seven months.. In addition, people living in rural areas are predicted to be almost five months older than their urban peers.. Recall that German scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Biology of Aging studied a drug called rapamycin and stated that, if used correctly, it can prolong life.. Named five habits that accelerate aging. Subscribe to our channel https://t. me/korrespondentnet Author: 1.