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How the COVID-19 pandemic might age us

Infectious disease, loneliness and stress can affect cellular ageing, making us less healthy and shortening lifespans.
  1. Emily Sohn

    1. Emily Sohn is a freelance journalist in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we might feel we’re ageing faster than before. That’s not as strange as it sounds. Accelerated ageing can result from several factors, some of which have been highlighted by the pandemic. Exposure to infectious diseases, chronic stress and loneliness can all affect the ageing process, exacerbating health conditions and shortening lives.

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Nature 601, S5-S7 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00071-0

This article is part of Nature Outlook: Ageing, an editorially independent supplement produced with the financial support of third parties. About this content.

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