UK Edition
The stress of renting makes people age faster, adding an extra two and half weeks to their biological age each year, a study suggests.
Scientists discovered that the effect of renting in the private sector is even more damaging to cells than being a former smoker or unemployed.
Low-quality housing accelerates ageing
The accelerated ageing phenomenon is being driven by the health effects of low-quality housing coupled with fears of not being able to pay the rent and the ongoing prospect of eviction, experts believe.
Many tenants complain of cold, mould and overcrowding, while the cost of living crisis has seen rents soar, putting people at risk of losing their homes.
Housing expert Dr Amy Clair, of the Institute for Social and Economic Research, said: “The result indicates that living in the private rented sector is associated with faster ageing, equivalent to approximately 2.5 weeks of additional ageing per year.
“For comparison being unemployed was associated with an additional 1.4 weeks per year and being a former smoker 1.1 weeks.
“The low security in the private rented sector, particularly when combined with its poor affordability, is a significant potential source of stress, and strong links have been established between stress and biological ageing in previous research.”
Participants’ blood samples analysed
For the study, scientists looked at blood samples taken from 1,420 participants in the British Household Panel Survey, who were also asked about their housing situation over the past decade.
Although the chronological age of humans is unchanging, biological age can speed up and slow down depending on the environment. Poor lifestyle can make the biological clock tick faster, while a healthy lifestyle may wind back the hands.
Scientists can measure how fast the clock is ticking by looking at changes to DNA over time. As humans age, their DNA acquires chemical tags which tell genes whether to dial up or dial down.
Measuring these tags can reveal the true biological age of an individual.
The analysis showed that living in a privately rented home was associated with faster biological ageing and almost double that of being out of work rather than being employed.
It was more than 50 per cent greater than having been a former smoker as opposed to never having smoked.
Repeated housing arrears, and exposure to pollution or environmental problems were also found to be individually associated with faster biological ageing.
The link remained even when accounting for factors which could bias the result, such as sex, nationality, education level, socioeconomic status, diet, financial hardship and weight.
Social housing ‘no different’ to owning
However, living in social housing was no different than outright ownership in terms of its association with biological ageing, with experts speculating that the lower cost and greater security may have a protective effect.
The research, published in the Journal of Epidemiology, concluded: “Our results suggest that challenging housing circumstances negatively affect health through faster biological ageing.
“However, biological ageing is reversible, highlighting the significant potential for housing policy changes to improve health.
“Policies to reduce the stress and uncertainty associated with private renting, such as ending ‘no-fault’ evictions, limiting rent increases, and improving conditions (some of which have happened in parts of the UK since these data were collected) may go some way to reducing the negative impacts of private renting.”