BIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF AGING IN YOUNG WOMEN IN THE CONDITIONS OF MILITARY AGGRESSION
Clinical medicine

BIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF AGING IN YOUNG WOMEN IN THE CONDITIONS OF MILITARY AGGRESSION

Published 2024-05-15

Authors:

Z.O. Boiarska
V.A. Overchuk
V.O. Kostenko
O.B. Rukshenas

Abstract:
This study examines the impact of wartime stress on the aging process in 95 young women in Ukraine, exploring the relationship between their chronological, biological, and psychological ages. Utilizing comprehensive assessment methods, including the measurement of biological age, psychological age, aging rate, anxiety levels, stress resilience, and positive mental health, the research highlights how prolonged stress accelerates biological aging. It was found that chronological age has a stronger connection with psychological age than with biological age, with significant differences in aging rate among groups. Specifically, the group with accelerated aging shows a higher biological age but a lower psychological age, which may indicate less awareness of aging or an optimistic tendency to assess one's health. Meanwhile, high stress resilience in this group may indicate adaptation to stress at the expense of physiological resources, leading to rapid aging. The findings underline the need for developing strategies to support mental health and counteract biological aging in stressful conditions, pointing to the complexity of the interaction between stress and aging.
Keywords:
biological age psychological age aging rate psychological stability accelerated aging
References:
  1. Karamushka LM, Kredentser OV, Tereshchenko KV, Lahodzinska VI, Ivkin VM, Kovalchuk OS. Metodyky doslidzhennia psykhichnoho zdorovia ta blahopoluchchia personalu orhanizatsii: psykholohichnyi praktykum. Kyiv: Instytut psykholohii imeni H.S. Kostiuka NAPN Ukrainy; 2023. p. 15-17, 19–21, 23-26. [in Ukrainian].
  2. Bourassa KJ, Garrett ME, Caspi A, Dennis M, Hall KS, Moffitt TE, et al. Posttraumatic stress disorder, trauma, and accelerated biological aging among post-9/11 veterans. Transl Psychiatry. 2024;14(1):4. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-023-02704-y
  3. Brivio P, Paladini MS, Racagni G, Riva MA, Calabrese F, Molteni R. From Healthy Aging to Frailty: In Search of the Underlying Mechanisms. Curr Med Chem. 2019;26(20):3685–3701. doi: 10.2174/0929867326666190717152739.
  4. Cañas-González B, Fernández-Nistal A, Ramírez JM, Martínez-Fernández V. Influence of Stress and Depression on the Immune System in Patients Evaluated in an Anti-aging Unit. Front Psychol. 2020; 11:1844. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01844
  5. Dhabhar FS. Effects of stress on immune function: the good, the bad, and the beautiful. Immunol Res. 2014;58(2-3):193–210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12026-014-8517-0
  6. Epel ES, Blackburn EH, Lin J, Dhabhar FS, Adler NE, Morrow JD, et al. Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Dec 7;101(49):17312–5. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0407162101
  7. Galkin F, Kochetov K, Koldasbayeva D, Faria M, Fung HH, Chen AX, et al. Psychological factors substantially contribute to biological aging: evidence from the aging rate in Chinese older adults. Aging (Albany NY). 2022;14(18):7206–7222. https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.204264
  8. Klopack ET, Crimmins EM, Cole SW, Seeman TE, Carroll JE. Social stressors associated with age-related T lymphocyte percentages in older US adults: Evidence from the US Health and Retirement Study. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022;119(25): e2202780119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2202780119
  9. Lukat J, Margraf J, Lutz R, van der Veld WM, Becker ES. Psychometric properties of the Positive Mental Health Scale (PMH-scale). BMC Psychol. 2016; 4:8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-016-0111-x
  10. Lupien SJ, Leclaire S, Majeur D, Raymond C, Jean Baptiste F, Giguère CE. 'Doctor, I am so stressed out!' A descriptive study of biological, psychological, and socioemotional markers of stress in individuals who self-identify as being 'very stressed out' or 'zen'. Neurobiol Stress. 2022; 18:100454. Published 2022 Apr 21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynstr.2022.100454
  11. Pisaruk A, Asanov E, Naskalova S, Antoniuk-Shcheglova I, Bondarenko O, Dyba I, et al. Effects of war-related stress on the cardiovascular system, metabolism and the rate of ageing in women. Ageing and Longevity. 2024; 5(1):21–8. https://aging-longevity.org.ua/journal-description/article/view/117
  12. Poliakov O, Tomarevska O. Functional age and residual working capacity in pensioners. Ageing and Longevity. 2020;1(1):41-2. https://aging-longevity.org.ua/journal-description/article/view/11
  13. Prowse R, Sherratt F, Abizaid A, Gabrys RL, Hellemans KG, Patterson ZR, et al. Coping with the COVID-19 pandemic: examining gender differences in stress and mental health among university students. Front Psychiatry. 2021; 12:650759. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.650759
  14. Overchuk V, Afanasieva N, Kovalova O, Vasuk K, Boiarska Z. Formation of health-saving competencies as a personal resource in conditions of prolonged traumatization. Multidisciplinary Science Journal. 2024;6(4): 1–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.31893/multiscience.2024054
  15. Yaribeygi H, Panahi Y, Sahraei H, Johnston TP, Sahebkar A. The impact of stress on body function: A review. EXCLI Journal. 2017; 16:1057–1072. https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2017-480
Publication:
«World of Medicine and Biology» Vol. 20 No. 88 (2024) , с. 23-27
УДК 159.922.8:612.6