Khaberni - A new study reveals that speaking more than one language can protect brain and health, as it slows down the biological processes of aging.
The study was conducted by researchers from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. Its results were published in the journal Nature Aging on November 10 and reported by the website EurekAlert.
The study analyzed data from 86,149 participants from across Europe, showing that multilingual individuals experience slower vital behavioral aging compared to individuals who speak only one language.
The index of vital behavioral age gaps, the difference between expected age and actual age, indicates whether a person appears younger and healthier or suffers from accelerated aging.
The researchers quantified the vital behavioral age gaps using artificial intelligence models trained on thousands of health and behavioral records, employing the innovative framework of the vital behavioral aging clock.
Gap between Actual Biological Age
These models predict a person's biological age through traits such as physical status (hypertension, diabetes, sleep problems, sensory loss) and protective factors (education, cognition, functional ability, physical activity).
The study found that individuals from countries where people typically speak at least one additional language were 2.17 times less likely to experience accelerated aging, while those who speak only one language were twice as likely to show patterns of early aging.
Dr. Lucia Amoruso, the co-author of the study from the Basque Center for Cognition, Brain and Language in Spain, said: "The protective effect was cumulative, the more languages people speak, the greater their protection from age-related decline."
Dr. Hernan Hernandez, co-author from the Brain Health Institute in Latin America, highlighted the societal impacts: "Our results show that multilingualism is an easily accessible and low-cost tool to promote healthy aging among people, complementing other modifiable factors such as creativity and education."
