Research Reveals the Two Peak Ages in Midlife When Humans Undergo Dramatically Rapid Aging
The phrase ‘aging like fine wine’ is quite prevalent in social media trends today. That is when a person seems to be as appealing as in their youth. What people are generally referring to are the dramatic changes observed due to aging. Now, a study conducted by researchers at Stanford University revealed that human beings undergo two spikes in aging in contrast to the notion that aging is constant throughout life. Adults aged 44 and 60 are more susceptible to witnessing age-related changes than in their former or later years, as per the study published in the journal Nature Ageing.
44 and 60 - The peaks of aging
The aging research took into account over 11,000 molecules from the adult body over time and found that 81% of the molecules underwent significant changes at the ages of 44 and 60. The findings allowed the scientists to correlate it with age-related illnesses. Blood samples of 108 participants from diverse ethnic backgrounds, aged 25 to 75, were collected and assessed for seven years. The study mainly focused on changes in gene activity and blood sugar levels. The results showed declines in the ability to metabolize caffeine and alcohol in blood samples of adults in their 40s and 60s.
“It turns out the mid-40s is a time of dramatic change, as is the early 60s. And that’s true no matter what class of molecules you look at," Michael Snyder, professor of genetics at Stanford University said in a press coverage. Moreover, the distinction between biological age and chronological age was evident after the study, as it highlighted the changes occurring in the body, including protein function, metabolites, and gene activity. As per chronological aging, humans grow older with every passing year. However, biological age differs on that ideology, as the study mentions, after attaining the two peak ages the body experiences dramatic alterations. These changes are further linked to diseases, particularly of the heart.
Illnesses that surge during aging spike
Around 6.5% of people aged 40 to 59 had coronary artery disease but that number rises to 19.8% in the ages of 60 to 79, as per Live Science. The risks of Type 2 diabetes also increase by these peak ages due to high blood sugar levels. While the peak ages’ relation with heart diseases was clear, the study did not consider the impact of lifestyle or physical activity influencing the findings. Researcher Xiaotao Shen, who works as a computational biologist at Nanyang Technology University in Singapore, addressed the possibility that perimenopause in women factors into the dramatic changes at 44. She said, “We found the same trigger timepoints for women and men.”
Hence, sex hormones do not seem to play a role in aging. Yet, the reason why both men and women experience the same changes is yet to be found. Besides that, the group of participants was selected from a particular region, California. Scientist Juan Carlos Verjan, though not involved in the study, implied that people in California lead healthier lives than in other regions with shorter lifespans, per the source. He also teased the limitation of studying only blood molecules, whereas other studies suggest aging is related to tissues.