Now we have proof: dealing with difficult people really does age you

Researchers have been studying the health effects of interacting with "hasslers" — people "who create problems or make life more difficult." Negative ties are common: nearly 30% of people surveyed reported at least one hassler in their network, and these figures usually occupy a peripheral position.

Hasslers are often colleagues or flatmates rather than friends, and can be family where obligation keeps the relationship intact. The researchers found that each additional hassler in a network is linked with a faster pace of biological ageing — about a 1.5% increase per hassler, which they say corresponds to roughly nine months older biological age.

They cautioned the study shows an association rather than proof of causation. Positive relationships protect against age-related decline, so negative ones plausibly have the opposite effect. There is no definitive mechanism, but negative relationships may act as chronic stressors that speed biological ageing and the physiological decline tied to disease vulnerability and longevity.

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