New findings suggest that routinely using two or more languages can slow the aging process in older adults.

Professor Agustin Ibanez of Trinity College Dublin in Ireland and an international research team recently published in the scientific journal Nature Aging that people who use multiple languages consistently experience slower biological aging than those who use only one language. Based on these results, the researchers explained that encouraging multilingualism could serve as a strategy to promote healthy aging at the population level.

Actor Lee Byungheon is greeting fans at the open talk for the opening film "No Other Choice" of the 30th Busan International Film Festival held on September 18 at the Busan Cinema Center in U-dong, Haeundae-gu, Busan. Lee Byungheon is known as a youthful celebrity and fluent English speaker. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

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The research team analyzed data from approximately 86,000 people (average age 66.5 years) across 27 European countries. The analysis revealed that people who use only one language were about twice as likely to experience accelerated aging as multilingual users. The more languages a person used, the greater the effect.

The study also confirmed that structural differences between a native language and a second language directly influence the intensity of brain stimulation. For example, when a Korean speaker learns a language with a different word order like English, a language with a different grammatical system like French or Spanish, or a language with entirely different pronunciation and writing systems like Chinese or Japanese, various neural circuits in the brain are activated simultaneously, strengthening overall cognitive functions.

The researchers measured the "biobehavioral age gap," which refers to the difference between a person's predicted age-based on actual age, health, and lifestyle habits-and their real age. If the predicted age was higher than the actual age, this was considered "accelerated aging"; if lower, "delayed aging." The survey included factors such as functional ability, education, cognitive function, cardiovascular disease, and sensory impairment.

The team found that, at a given point in time, multilingual users had about a 54% lower risk of accelerated aging compared to monolingual users. Over time, the risk of developing accelerated aging was also 30% lower for multilingual users. The researchers added that this difference remained statistically significant even after accounting for age, linguistic, physical, political, and social factors.

This study is significant because it clearly demonstrates the link between multilingualism and delayed aging using a large sample and systematic measurement methods. The researchers explained that these results suggest multilingualism may help protect older adults from aging and could be utilized in global health strategies.

Professor Agustin Ibanez emphasized, "Multilingual ability is not just a simple language skill but a daily exercise that trains the brain," adding, "Lifelong language learning can be a key pillar of public policy that promotes healthy aging."

However, further research is needed to determine whether multilingualism directly slows aging, or if the effect is due to a combination of diverse social and cognitive stimulation.

Meanwhile, aging remains a major global health issue associated with declines in cognitive and physical function, and identifying protective factors has become an important challenge.