Private renters age faster, says Essex and Adelaide university research

Biological ageing refers to the decline in functioning of the body's tissues and cells, regardless of actual age

Living in a privately rented home is related to faster biological ageing, researchers have claimed.

Experts from the University of Essex and University of Adelaide in Australia conducted the study.

They found renting privately, falling behind with rent payments or living in a home affected by pollution was linked with faster biological ageing.

Biological ageing refers to the decline in functioning of the body's tissues and cells, regardless of actual age.

Previous studies have suggested that biological ageing can accelerate during stressful events and reverse once the stress has stopped.Writing in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, the researchers said the "stress-induced acceleration of epigenetic ageing" might contribute to the long-known link between psychological stress and disease.

This shows how housing circumstances can "get under the skin with real and significant consequences for health", they added.

'Faster biological ageing'

The study also found that people living in social housing seemed to fare better, partly because of the security it offers and lower costs.

The combined university research teams used data on housing and DNA methylation - a chemical marker of DNA changes - from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, linked with prior survey responses from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS).

The analysis looked at factors such as length of tenancy, building type, the government financial support available to renters, presence of central heating, housing costs, payment arrears, overcrowding and expectations around moving.

Further health information was collected from the 1,420 people in the BHPS survey, and blood samples taken for DNA methylation analysis.

The researchers concluded: "We find that living in a privately rented home is related to faster biological ageing.

"Importantly, the impact of private renting is greater than the impact of experiencing unemployment or being a former smoker vs never smoker.

"When we include historical housing circumstances in the analysis, we find that repeated housing arrears and exposure to pollution/environmental problems are also associated with faster biological ageing."

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