The protagonist of The Anniversary (Anagrama), the award-winning novel by Italian writer Andrea Bajani, decides to separate from his parents, cut all communication with them, and put distance between them to move away from the discomfort caused by this relationship, inevitably marked by the totalitarianism and persistent violence ―both physical and emotional― exerted by his father. Unintentionally, with this distancing that seeks to protect his emotional health, this adult man is also buying chances to live longer and better.
Read more The ‘Grand Prix’ is the ‘Takeshi’s Castle’ of Indonesian viewers
At least, that is what the results of a recent study published in the journal PNAS suggest, which concluded that negative ties in a person’s close social network (those that habitually make life more difficult) are associated with faster biological aging. Specifically, the authors of the research found that each additional toxic person was related to a modestly accelerated aging rate and approximately nine months more biological age, as well as higher levels of inflammation, depression, anxiety, and chronic disease burden.
Until now, much research had focused on the relationship between unwanted loneliness and accelerated aging. However, for Byungkyu Lee, professor in the Sociology Department at New York University and lead author of the study, these findings shift attention from the benefits of supportive relationships to the health costs of toxic relationships. “Much of the scientific literature has focused on social support as a protective factor, but our results suggest that negative ties can also be biologically integrated, especially when they involve people who are central in daily life,” he explains to EL PAÍS.
For Consuelo Borrás, leader of the MiniAging research group at the INCLIVA Health Research Institute and author of 100 Years Is Nothing (La esfera de los libros, 2026), the research results are “solid” and reaffirm the importance of social relationships as a pillar of healthy aging, as important as diet, exercise, or sleep. “What makes this work especially valuable is that it measures biological aging with epigenetic clocks based on DNA methylation. It is the first study to quantify with this precision the specific effect of toxic relationships on biological aging,” she argues.
Stress as a driver of aging
In 2009, Australian biochemist Elizabeth Helen Blackburn received the Nobel Prize in Medicine (shared with Carol Greider and Jack Szostak) for the discovery of telomerase, an enzyme that adds DNA to the ends of chromosomes (telomeres), protecting them from degradation during cell division, and which plays a fundamental role in cellular aging and cancer development. Five years earlier, as José Viña, professor of Physiology at the University of Valencia, recalls, Blackburn had led research demonstrating how perceived life stress accelerated telomere shortening. That mechanism, precisely, according to the author of The Science of Longevity (Sinequanon, 2025), could underlie the relationship between toxic people and accelerated aging.
Byungkyu Lee shares this view, pointing out that difficult relationships can generate repeated tension and emotional wear that keep the body’s stress response systems activated over time. “When this happens repeatedly, it can affect inflammation, immune function, sleep, and other physiological systems closely related to aging,” emphasizes the researcher.
This reflection is also supported by Consuelo Borrás, who highlights that sustained stress promotes a state of low-grade systemic inflammation, known as inflammaging, which is one of the hallmarks of aging. “The study itself finds higher levels of C-reactive protein in people with more toxic relationships, a chronic inflammation that alters DNA methylation patterns and leaves a detectable molecular imprint on our epigenome,” she adds.
What is curious about the study’s results is that toxic close family members (father, mother, sibling, children, or brother-in-law) or toxic non-family members such as bosses or coworkers show an impact on biological age that, however, a toxic partner does not manifest. For Borrás, a possible explanation for this apparent contradiction lies in the relationships themselves. You can separate from a toxic partner. However, it is more difficult to divorce from parents, children, or a boss. “The conflictive relationship with a family member is more chronic, harder to avoid, and above all, more ambivalent, combining emotional obligation and affective bond with conflict. The study precisely shows that ambivalent relationships are more harmful than exclusively negative ones. That combination of forced proximity and sustained tension seems to generate particularly toxic stress,” she argues.
For Byungkyu Lee, another explanation could be that partner relationships usually combine negative and positive interactions differently than other ties. “A spouse who causes you problems is also usually someone with whom you share daily routines, resources, and emotional intimacy, which can offset the pattern we observe,” he suggests.
All the experts consulted agree that this compensation for the impact caused by toxic people can also be achieved with a good network of positive relationships and strong support ties. “Our findings suggest that the overall balance of a person’s social network matters, so having a broader circle of supportive people can help offset some of the tension generated by conflictive individuals,” says Byungkyu Lee.
“It is known that positive social support reduces stress levels and modulates the inflammatory response, that is, it acts on the same biological pathways as toxic relationships but in the opposite direction,” adds Consuelo Borrás, who believes that if one cannot escape a toxic relationship, “it is essential to invest in strengthening positive relationships.” José Viña also points out the importance of learning to manage stress emotionally: “If you can, stay away from that toxic person. And if you cannot because, for example, it is your father, do not get angry and try to control the stress.”
The researchers also agree on the importance of not falling into alarmism. The results of this study cannot be summarized, for example, as “better alone than in bad company.” And unwanted loneliness, they remind, is a well-established risk factor for accelerated aging, dementia, cardiovascular disease, and premature mortality. “What this study does tell us is that not just any company will do. A small but positive network can be much more protective than a large network full of toxic relationships. Neither loneliness nor bad company is good; what protects is the quality of the bond, not its mere existence,” concludes Consuelo Borrás.
Read more This is how to get papers in Spain: «It has changed my life»