HELSINKI, 2nd October, 2026 (WAM) -- Researchers from the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, found that biological aging may accelerate as early as young adulthood. In addition to lifestyle factors, environmental exposures and living environments may contribute to faster biological ageing.
In the study, published in the journal Environment International, lifestyle and environmental exposures during childhood and adolescence explained approximately 28 percent of the variation in biological age at age 22.
Genetics, lifestyles and environmental factors shape how fast bodies age. Biological aging begins before birth, and it can progress faster or slower than chronological aging. Faster biological ageing increases the risk of developing age-related diseases earlier in life.
In a longitudinal twin study conducted at the University of Jyväskylä, researchers examined the exposome, the totality of lifestyle and environmental exposures, and its effect on biological age in young adulthood using machine learning models.
In the study, the exposome was assessed using 186 lifestyle and environmental exposures, including lifestyle factors, surrounding greenness, air pollution and sociodemographic factors in participants' living areas.
The researchers found that the measured childhood and adolescent exposures explained approximately 28 percent of the variation in epigenetic age at age 22.