According to a new study, renting makes you age faster and has twice the negative effects on your body than being unemployed. This finding is bad news for people who lost their deposits to buy property; But the good news is that Rental charges are refundable.
A recent study used data from the UK Longitudinal Household Index Study (UKHLS), commonly known as Community Insights, and responses from the British Panel Survey (BHPS). These data included detailed information on building stressors such as mold and cold and psychosocial issues such as high prices and overcrowding.
Next, the collected information was paired with the survey participants’ existing health records, whose blood samples were taken for DNA methylation analysis (a measure of biological aging). This study looked at the housing conditions of the participants for about 10 years and then analyzed the data.
Researchers’ studies showed that people who live in rent age faster than others, and the amount of damage caused by renting compared to having a private property is twice the damage caused by unemployment compared to having a job. The increase in the biological aging rate of people was also 50% higher than the aging speed of smokers compared to people who did not smoke all their lives.
Faster biological aging seems to be more common than others, especially where people can’t afford the rent or live in areas that expose them to pollution and environmental problems. On the other hand, the research showed that the effect of living in the houses that the government provides with cheap rent to the low-income groups in the premature aging of people is no different from renting.
According to the researchers, the results of their studies show that challenging housing conditions have a negative impact on people’s health through faster biological aging; However, they also point out that biological aging is reversible, highlighting the significant potential for changing housing policies to improve community health.
The recent research is an observational study, and for this reason, it is not possible to draw conclusions about the cause of this problem; But researchers believe that improving the treatment and living conditions of people who pay rent to the private sector may be the key to slowing down this biological aging.
The researchers write in part of their article: “The meaning of private lessor is not clear; But it depends on those political decisions that have prioritized owners and investors over tenants.” Researchers believe that measures such as limiting the rent, policies to reduce the stress and uncertainty of tenants are among the things that can reduce the negative effects of renting to some extent.
