The regular use of more than one language is associated with a lower risk of accelerated aging. It may protect brain and physical health, as well as slow down the biological processes of maturation and strengthen resilience throughout life.
This is according to research published in Nature Aging. In which Spanish researchers participated, which indicates that people who only speak one language are approximately twice as likely (2.11 times) to suffer accelerated aging.
However, those who speak at least one additional language are 2.17 times less likely to experience this decline according to data from 27 European countries. Furthermore, this is a cumulative effect.
The more languages one speaks, the greater the protection against age-related cognitive decline. According to the Basque Center for Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), one of the authors of the article.
The impact of multilingualism on healthy aging “appears to be very significant,” Agustín Ibáñez, from the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) at Trinity College Dublin and one of the authors of the article, told EFE.
Also these findings, he noted, reinforce the idea that multilingualism “not only has cultural or communicative value. But also constitutes a significant determinant of public health.”
Although the study did not make a direct comparison with other healthy habits. The data indicate that its benefits “are comparable to, and even greater in some cases than, those reported in large population studies on physical exercise, diet, or lifestyle habits,” Ibáñez pointed out.
Previous research had already suggested that multilingualism can help maintain cognitive function. But the evidence was inconsistent due to the use of small samples, clinical cohorts, and indirect measures of aging. Strong evidence was found in 27 countries.
The new study, conducted with data from 86,149 people, “provides solid evidence” that speaking more than one language “acts as a protective factor for healthy aging.” According to Lucía Amoruso of the BCBL, one of the article’s authors.
Moreover the team analyzed data from a survey of participants aged 51 to 90 in 27 European countries. To estimate whether aging was faster or slower than expected based on health and lifestyle factors.
To do this, they trained artificial intelligence models with thousands of health and behavioral profiles to estimate people’s biological age and calculate the biobehavioral age gap (BBAG). Which defines the difference between the age estimated by protective and risk factors and the actual chronological age.
The data included risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, sleep problems, and sensory los. As well as protective factors (education, cognition, functional capacity, and physical activity) for participants to calculate the BBAG, Amoruso explains.
Negative BBAG values indicate healthy, delayed aging. However, positive values indicate more accelerated aging, explains Ibáñez. Who is also the scientific director of the Latin American Institute of Brain Health (BrainLat).
Futhermore the observed positive effects of multilingualism persisted even after adjusting the data for linguistic, physical, social, and sociopolitical exposomes (the sum of physical and social exposures throughout life).
Regarding which mechanisms speaking several languages might activate or maintain in the brain to achieve this protective effect. Ibáñez said they believe three pathways converge.
The biological pathway (neuroplasticity and efficiency of frontoparietal networks). The cognitive pathway (chronic training of executive control, attention, and working memory, which generates greater cognitive reserve). And the social pathway (greater participation and social integration, which reduces allostatic load or stress).
“These pathways can translate into systemic benefits, not just brain benefits,” the researcher emphasizes. Multilingualism is “an accessible and cost-effective tool for promoting healthy aging in the population. Complementing other modifiable factors such as creativity and education,” says Amoruso.
For this reason, the team advocates for incorporating language learning into public health and education policies to improve cognitive resilience and reduce the social burden of aging. The Basque Foundation for Science, Ikerbasque, and the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) also participated in the research, among others.
With information from the EFE news agency
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