Could the air we breathe, the food we eat, or the chemicals in our everyday environment be accelerating our aging process? A recent study published in Aging suggests that exposure to certain environmental chemicals may be linked to faster biological aging through changes in DNA. These findings could have major implications for public health and longevity.

Understanding How Scientists Measure Aging at the DNA Level

Aging is not just about wrinkles and gray hair—it happens at the molecular level too. Scientists use epigenetic clocks to measure biological aging, which can differ from a person’s actual chronological age. These clocks track DNA methylation, a type of chemical modification that can change over time due to environmental factors like diet, pollution, and chemical exposure. Until now, there has been little research into how widespread environmental chemicals impact these aging markers.

The Study: Investigating the Impact of Environmental Pollutants on Aging

A research team led by first author Dennis Khodasevich and corresponding author Andres Cardenas from Stanford University, conducted an exposome-wide association study to examine how different environmental pollutants affect epigenetic aging. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), they analyzed blood and urine samples from 2,346 adults aged 50 to 84. The study measured 64 environmental chemicals, including heavy metals, pesticides, plastics, and tobacco-related compounds, to identify potential links to accelerated aging. The study titled “Exposome-wide association study of environmental chemical exposures and epigenetic aging in the national health and nutrition examination survey,” was published in Aging on February 11, 2025.

Full blog - https://aging-us.org/2025/03/how-environmental-chemicals-may-accelerate-biological-aging/

Paper DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.206201

Corresponding author - Andres Cardenas - [email protected]

Video short - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcL-K399a7M

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Keywords - aging, epigenetic aging, environmental exposures, exposome, epigenetics

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The mission of the journal is to understand the mechanisms surrounding aging and age-related diseases, including cancer as the main cause of death in the modern aged population.

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