Depression and loneliness could age you faster than cigarettes

By somatic effect, depression could trigger a multitude of ailments such as chronic fatigue, musculoskeletal, joint, gastrointestinal disorders, sexual disorders, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and infectious diseases, according to thea-depression.org.

And that’s not all: according to researchers from Stanford University and Hong Kong, depression and these risk factors could also accelerate aging. According to the results of their study, published in the journal Aging-US and relayed by The Guardian, feeling unhappy, lonely or depressed would add up to 1.65 years to a person’s biological age.

“The results are interesting and add to existing evidence…which suggests that factors such as stress and low socioeconomic position are linked to accelerated ageing,” said Andrew Steptoe, professor of psychology and epidemiology at University College London.