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Premature aging in serious mental illness.
Breno S Diniz1,2, Gabriel R Fries3, Chia-Ling Kuo4,5,6
1Department of Psychiatry, UConn Health School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA. diniz@uchc.edu.
Summary
Serious mental illnesses are linked to accelerated biological aging. This aging contributes to disability, medical issues, and premature death in patients with these conditions.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Gerontology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Serious mental illnesses (SMIs) like depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia are associated with cognitive decline, chronic medical conditions, and early mortality.
- These factors contribute to severe disability in SMIs, suggesting a premature aging phenotype beyond psychopathology.
- The mechanisms linking SMIs to premature aging are unclear, but accelerated biological aging is increasingly suspected.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and analyze the literature on the association between SMIs and biological aging.
- To evaluate how biological aging abnormalities contribute to psychopathology and adverse outcomes in SMIs.
- To explore the role of lifestyle factors in biological aging and their potential as treatment targets for SMIs.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature review focusing on mood disorders and schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
- Analysis of studies examining hallmarks of biological aging in individuals with SMIs.
- Evaluation of the interplay between behavioral factors, lifestyle, and biological aging.
Main Results:
- Evidence suggests SMIs are associated with abnormalities across multiple hallmarks of biological aging.
- These biological aging abnormalities correlate with increased psychopathology, poorer treatment outcomes, and a premature aging phenotype.
- Behavioral and lifestyle factors significantly influence biological aging hallmarks in SMIs.
Conclusions:
- Accelerated biological aging is a significant characteristic of SMIs, contributing to adverse outcomes.
- Understanding biological aging mechanisms may reveal novel therapeutic targets for SMIs.
- Addressing lifestyle factors could mitigate accelerated aging and improve outcomes in serious mental illnesses.
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