
Covid and Aging
“Avoiding COVID-19 May Help Slow Down the Aging Process
The COVID-19 pandemic has not only been a global health crisis but also a profound challenge to our understanding of aging and its biological underpinnings. Emerging research suggests that contracting COVID-19—particularly severe cases—can accelerate biological aging, impacting various systems in the body. Avoiding infection, therefore, may play a significant role in preserving youthfulness at the cellular and systemic levels…”
A thread:
“The life expectancy of men in the U.S. is nearly six years shorter than that of women, according to new research published on Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.
At least partially as a consequence of over 1 million Covid-19 deaths, life expectancy in the U.S. has declined significantly over the past few years, falling from 78.8 years in 2019 to 77 in 2020 and 76.1 in 2022 — undoing over two decades of progress.”
To put it another way: SARS-CoV-2 infection causes biological wear-and-tear to accumulate at a significantly faster rate than chronological aging.
The best way to avoid this is to avoid infection!
Related: Starting thread on Covid and effect on telomeres: