A new study concludes that the human body does not age at a constant rate throughout adulthood but instead undergoes a dramatic increase in aging around the two key ages.
In research published in the journal Nature Aging on August 14, 2024, the researchers examined over 135,000 different molecules related to aging in 108 adults that were between the ages of 25 and 75 and regularly monitored the changes these molecules underwent every three to six months.
This led to the discovery that a vast majority of these sampled molecules did not exhibit a steady aging pattern but rather showed sharp alterations, particularly around ages 45 and 65, as per Stanford University researchers.
Studies like these focus on “biological age,” to understand the changes in proteins, metabolites, and gene activity that evolve over time, which differs from the “chronological age” that is celebrated each year.
“We’re not just changing gradually over time. There are some really dramatic changes. 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,” said the co-author of the study.
These findings, according to the researchers, might help in better understanding of the molecular changes that our bodies undergo at these two significant time periods.
“If we can find the drivers of these changes, we may even be able to find ways to slow or even reverse the drivers of the aging at these two time points,” claimed Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University’s biologist to the Washington Post.
