Khaberni - When searching for a neighborhood to live in, the priorities are usually low rent, safety, and good schools. But a new study found another factor that may need to be added to the list: the absence of "zombie cells".
Researchers from New York University found that some neighborhoods cause their residents to age faster than others, not because of pollution or lack of health services as some might think, but due to poverty and chronic economic pressures.
Mariana Rodriguez, the lead researcher in the study, says: "Our health is shaped not only by our individual behaviors, but also through the environments we live in. This study shows that the structural conditions surrounding us can become biologically entrenched in our bodies and affect how quickly we age."
The researchers analyzed data from 1215 American adults and provided blood samples as part of a larger study. They then evaluated the neighborhoods they lived in based on several factors, including air and water quality, education level, health insurance, homeownership, and income.
The surprise was that residents of "low-opportunity neighborhoods" (the most impoverished and deprived) showed much higher levels of a biological marker called CDKN2A RNA, which is scientifically known to measure cellular biological aging. This marker increases when cells are exposed to stress and cumulative damage, especially to the DNA.
This marker is directly linked to "zombie cells," which are damaged cells that have stopped dividing but have not died. These cells do not die but remain in the tissues, causing chronic inflammation, which accelerates aging and leads to age-related diseases such as arteriosclerosis, arthritis, and muscle weakness.
The researchers found that the main reason for this accelerated aging was not pollution, education, or healthcare, but social and economic factors: employment, homeownership, and income. In other words, the continuous stress resulting from poverty, job instability, and the inability to own a home is what accelerates aging at the cellular level.
Adolfo Cuevas, the supervisor of the study, says: "The stress related to income, jobs, and housing are not transient events but continuous conditions that shape our daily lives. We discovered that chronic stress caused by economic deprivation is the primary driver of cellular aging."
It is worth noting that there are ways to get rid of "zombie cells," including special drugs called senolytics, regular exercise, and consuming natural substances like "fisetin," which is found in high concentrations in strawberries (but in very large amounts), or dietary supplements.
Researcher Rodriguez emphasizes the importance of the findings: "Improving neighborhood conditions, especially social and economic resources, may be key to promoting healthy aging and reducing health disparities. But if we really want to address these disparities, we need to think about change at a structural level, not just individually."
The study reminds that this is not the first research to link where you live to your health. Previous studies have shown that residents of extremely poor neighborhoods often face toxic air and dangerous streets, while neighborhoods that encourage walking and provide green spaces enhance overall health. However, what is new here is that chronic economic pressure alone, even without pollution, can accelerate internal aging.
