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Multilingualism Linked to Slower Biological Aging in Major European Study

AI-based aging measures in 86,149 older Europeans tied language proficiency to smaller biobehavioral age gaps, with authors stressing the evidence is observational.

Overview

  • Nature Aging paper analyzed adults aged 51–90 across 27 countries using an AI-derived biobehavioral aging clock built from health and behavioral data.
  • Multilingual participants were 2.17 times less likely to show accelerated aging, while monolinguals had higher odds and risk (OR≈2.11; RR≈1.43).
  • Protective associations appeared in both cross-sectional (OR≈0.46) and longitudinal analyses (RR≈0.70) and persisted after extensive adjustments.
  • A dose–response pattern emerged, with additional languages associated with progressively lower risk of accelerated aging.
  • Authors highlight limits of causal inference and exposure measurement and call for targeted longitudinal and intervention studies, while suggesting language learning could inform public health and education policy.