Summary: A large international analysis of 86,149 people across 27 European countries finds that speaking more than one language is associated with slower biological and cognitive aging. Using AI-driven biobehavioral aging clocks, researchers measured “biobehavioral age gaps” and found that multilingualism corresponds to substantially lower odds of accelerated aging compared with monolingualism.
The advantage appears cumulative: each additional language spoken related to greater protection against age-related decline. These results position language learning as an affordable, scalable strategy to support lifelong brain health and resilience.
Key Facts
- Large sample: 86,149 participants from 27 European countries.
- Reduced risk: Multilingual individuals had roughly half the odds of accelerated aging (odds ratio = 0.46); conversely, monolinguals showed approximately double the odds (odds ratio ≈ 2.11) of accelerated aging.
- Cumulative benefit: Speaking more languages was associated with progressively stronger protection against age-related decline.
Source: TCD
Can learning another language help you stay younger for longer?
Beyond cultural and social value, multilingualism may help preserve both physical and cognitive health as people age. An international team led by Dr. Agustín Ibáñez at Trinity College Dublin, together with co-authors Dr. Lucia Amoruso and Dr. Hernán Hernández (BrainLat), reports that multilingual individuals show patterns consistent with slower biobehavioral aging.
Published in Nature Aging, the study, titled “Multilingualism protects against accelerated aging in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of 27 European countries,” uses an AI-based framework to estimate biobehavioral age gaps (BBAGs). These gaps quantify whether a person’s predicted biological age—based on health, behavior, and functional measures—is younger or older than their chronological age.
The machine-learning models combined a wide range of individual-level factors, including physical health markers (cardiometabolic conditions, sensory impairments, sleep problems), functional measures (mobility, daily living activities), cognitive measures, education, and lifestyle factors such as physical activity. National-level multilingualism served as an aggregate exposure that the authors related to individual BBAGs.
The BBAG indicates delayed aging when negative and accelerated aging when positive. In this large, population-based sample, biobehavioral factors predicted age with meaningful accuracy (R² = 0.24; r = 0.49; RMSE ≈ 8.61 years). Positive social and cognitive factors linked to delayed aging, while adverse health markers associated with accelerated aging.
Crucially, multilingualism emerged as a protective influence in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Multilingual participants showed substantially lower odds of accelerated aging, and these effects held after adjusting for linguistic context, social factors, physical health, and broader sociopolitical variables. Longitudinal results indicated that multilingualism predicted a reduced risk of accelerated aging over time, supporting its potential role as a durable protective factor.
Dr. Agustín Ibáñez, senior author and Scientific Director of the Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), commented that the findings provide robust evidence that multilingualism supports healthy aging. Language learning and everyday language use recruit brain systems tied to attention, memory, and executive control and foster social engagement—mechanisms likely contributing to resilience across the lifespan.
Lead author Dr. Lucia Amoruso noted the cumulative nature of the effect: the more languages people used, the greater the apparent protection. Co-lead author Dr. Hernán Hernández emphasized public-health relevance, calling multilingualism an accessible, cost-effective strategy that complements other modifiable protective factors such as education and creative engagement.
This large-scale epidemiological work advances global brain-health strategies by demonstrating how cognitive, social, and cultural exposures—like multilingualism—can be integrated into population-level approaches to reduce age-related decline and its societal burden. The authors encourage considering language learning as part of education and public-health policies aimed at promoting cognitive resilience.
Key Questions Answered:
A: People who speak more than one language tend to show slower biological and behavioral aging than monolinguals, as measured by AI-derived biobehavioral age gaps.
A: Researchers used machine-learning “biobehavioral aging clocks” built from health, cognitive, and lifestyle data to estimate biological age and compute the gap with chronological age.
A: Multilingualism engages cognitive control, attention, memory systems, and social interaction—factors that may strengthen resilience and lower the risk of age-related decline at the population level.
About this language and aging research news
Author: Ciara O’Shea
Source: TCD
Contact: Ciara O’Shea – TCD
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Closed access.
“Multilingualism protects against accelerated aging in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of 27 European countries” by Agustín Ibáñez et al. Nature Aging
Abstract
Multilingualism protects against accelerated aging in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of 27 European countries
Aging trajectories are shaped by modifiable factors, and prior work has suggested that multilingualism may confer protective benefits. Previous studies were limited by small samples, inconsistent markers, and confounder control, reducing applicability to general populations.
To address these gaps, the authors developed biobehavioral age gaps using survey data from 86,149 participants across 27 European countries. Individual-level positive factors (functional ability, education, cognition) and adverse factors (cardiometabolic conditions, sensory loss, female sex) were combined with country-level measures of multilingualism as an exposure.
Biobehavioral predictors showed meaningful performance in estimating age (R² = 0.24; r = 0.49; RMSE ≈ 8.61). Positive factors associated with delayed aging, while adverse factors linked to accelerated aging. Multilingualism emerged as protective in cross-sectional analyses (odds ratio = 0.46) and longitudinal analyses (relative risk = 0.70). Monolingualism increased the likelihood of accelerated aging (odds ratio ≈ 2.11; relative risk ≈ 1.43). Effects remained after adjusting for linguistic, physical, social, and sociopolitical exposomes.
These data support the protective role of multilingualism and highlight its relevance for global health strategies that integrate cognitive, cultural, and social determinants of aging.