Health Habits and Cell Aging in Severe Mental Illness

Individuals with an unhealthy lifestyle had shorter telomere length (TL) compared to those with a healthy lifestyle (Cohen's d = 0.58, p = 0.004).

• A total of 410 participants with severe mental disorders were included, consisting of individuals with schizophrenia spectrum (n = 225) and affective disorder (n = 185).
• Leukocyte telomere length was measured using blood samples and quantitative real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR).
• Self-reported data on six lifestyle areas—diet, exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, substance use, and coffee consumption—were collected from participants.
• A notable relationship was found between a higher number of unhealthy behaviors and shorter telomere length (p = 0.02), adjusted for various demographic and clinical factors.
• Individuals maintaining healthy lifestyles displayed a biological age approximately six years younger in terms of base-pair loss compared to those with unhealthy lifestyles.

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