In the study, published in the journal Environment International, lifestyle and environmental exposures during childhood and adolescence explained approximately 28 percent of the variation in biological age at age 22.

Genetics, lifestyles and environmental factors shape how fast bodies age. Biological aging begins before birth, and it can progress faster or slower than chronological aging. Faster biological ageing increases the risk of developing age-related diseases earlier in life.

In a longitudinal twin study conducted at the University of Jyväskylä, researchers examined the exposome, the totality of lifestyle and environmental exposures, and its effect on biological age in young adulthood using machine learning models.

The study examined the exposome through 186 lifestyle and environmental factors, including personal habits, access to green spaces, air pollution and sociodemographic conditions in participants’ residential areas.

Researchers found that exposures during childhood and adolescence accounted for about 28 percent of the differences in epigenetic age measured at 22.