I believe chronic pain left untreated will cause a shorter life span. My doctor had an injury, he wouldn't take his pain meds., thinking he would tough it out. When his doctor called him to ask if he was taking them and he said no, did his doctor ever get ******! Pain sets off a chain-full of chemical reactions that have a bad effect on the major organs.
Another example. I spent 20 years with un-treated panic attacks. Panic also sets off a cascade of nasty chemicals that flood the system, wearing on the adrenals, etc. Aside from these chemicals, pain causes high blood pressure, so what else does it do that we don't know yet?
Funny, as I recently asked my doctor friend this same question you asked. I trust his expertise totally. He said there is just no way to tell. Doctors tell people "you have X amount of time left to life" (when faced with life threatening illnesses) yet how many times are they wrong!?!
There is a site called Real Age.com (or something like that, I can look if you want) with a bunch of questions to answer and it tells your real age. I keep meaning to do it 'cause I figure if it says I'm 82 years old ( I'm really only 52) maybe I would live my life a bit differently, ya know? I mean when were in our 30's, 40's & 50's, were planning for the future. When were in our 80's the future is NOW!
Questions like, how much you exercise, if you smoke, if you have high blood pressure, and or other health conditions, are over-weight, how well you cope with stress, how often you have sex, socialize, etc., add up to your "real age".
Considering I can only walk 10 minutes every day tops, can not do anything weight bearing, and I smoke (shhhh), don't eat healthy cause I'm too tired to cook often now, live alone, I must be about 90.
Geesh! Sorry so long winded but it's been on my mind. I mean it's not cancer but it *is* threatening life. (But not life threatening?)
One last thing I promise. My mentor/doctor/friend/therapist (all rolled into one) is such an honest, highly intelligent, and aware person. He's the only person I've spoken to who will admit that life on this planet doesn't even come close to what it's cracked up to be. And how it really sucks for most people.
It's so refreshing for me to hear such honesty. (So thanks for the posts here along the same vain!) He says they made a mistake when he was born and that he was supposed to end up on some other planet. Tee-hee.
Sunrise
PS: I wish I believed in the after-life.