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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Aging is an uphill battle that some find gets significantly steeper as the body creeps toward 100. The average man in the United States will live to 74, the average woman to 80 — that's if they keep up their fitness and suffer no major illnesses. Many researchers — and non-researchers alike — wonder why this happens.
Why do we slow down? Why does our vision blur? Our hearing fade? Our backs ache? Stanford Medicine researchers found that massive biomolecular shifts occur in small bursts in our 40s and 60s, which could explain common symptoms of aging. The study, released in August , shows that many of the molecules and microorganisms (like lipids, proteins and carbohydrates) dramatically rise or fall in number during two periods of "rapid aging." They found that the abundance of most molecules and microbes do not change at a steady rate over time.
Rather, humans undergo two periods of rapid change, specifically at age 44 and then again at 60. Graph by Amanda Montañez from “Nonlinear Dynamics of Multi-omics Profiles during Human Aging,” by Xiaotao Shen in Nature Aging. Published online August 14, 2024 via Scientific American.
Dr. Michael Snyder , lead researcher on the study and professor of genetics at Stanford Medicine, said the inspiration for the study that began in 2010 was to see "when things go off" in the body. Scientists with Snyder at Stanford tracked different molecules from blood samples in 108 participants from age 25 to 75 in 1.
7-year increments over 10 years. These samples included RNA, proteins and metabolites (small molecules produced in metabolism), as well as looking at shifts in the participants’ microbiomes (the bacteria, viruses and fungi that live inside us and on our skin). The researchers tracked age-related changes in more than 135,000 different molecules and microbes, for a total of nearly 250 billion distinct data points.
Past insights from this same group include the discovery of four distinct “ageotypes.” Researchers were able to show that people’s kidneys, livers, metabolism and immune systems age at different rates in a paper released in 2023 from Stanford Medicine. Before the study, the medical community generally accepted that the body goes through "general milestones" or developmental checkpoints throughout the human life: newborn, infancy, puberty and elderly (with many more pediatric milestones in between).
Now, the study has added a new aging group to engage in further study. What happens at 44? Dr. Eric Wilder at Ochsner in New Orleans said many of the symptoms described in the rapid aging period at 44 include some of "the normal aches and pains of getting older" including: Dr.
Eric Wilder Not able to lose weight, easier to put on abdominal fat Energy levels are lower Not able to drink all night and not have a hangover Vision begins to change, needing readers Sensitivity to dark lights Hearing isn't as sharp Spicy foods may be more of an issue, an easier time getting indigestion Wilder said that even though the Stanford Medicine study was small, it "very closely aligns with what we're actually seeing in practice." Can we slow down aging? Although the study proves changes at the molecular level, Snyder says that should not stop people from pursuing preventive measures to slow down the aging process. "As you get older, everybody says: 'You should slow down,'" Snyder said.
"Well, that's bad advice." The reduction of lipid and protein production at age 44 impacts the ability to maintain muscle mass, so it’s important to get ahead of those molecular changes, according to Snyder. “We actually have a lot more control over all the little things,” Wilder said.
“Diet and exercise — that's where it all starts.” Wilder recommends getting good cardiac health, keeping the heart pumping, burning calories, strengthening muscles and bones to get the body ahead of those aging processes. Wilder also looks to reduction in alcohol intake, smoking, vaping, stress levels and unhealthy foods to keep the body prepared for possible illnesses and comorbidities (the presence of one or more medical conditions or diseases).
“It goes so far into getting ahead of all those aging processes and keeping them at bay as long as we can,” Wilder added. “They are going to happen, but you can set yourself up for success to live the fullest and most healthy life that you can.” Are there any limitations to the study? Although the study did not directly reference perimenopause and menopause, researchers at Stanford found that the aging trends stayed the same when they divided the data between men and women.
"Perimenopause and menopause may not be as highly contributing factors in these specific aging waves," Snyder said. "But further study on female aging rates is valuable and encouraged in the profession." The study also did not include study subjects with illnesses or multiple illnesses that would likely be contributing factors to rapid aging factors.
Researchers made sure each candidate was healthy throughout the study. All 108 research subjects were residents of California, limiting certain environmental, geographical and cultural contributing factors to aging as well..
