Discovering the secret of overnight aging: Humans experience sudden aging at the age of 44 and 60

Human development throughout life is mainly considered as a chain of gradual changes from egg to death; But you might wake up one morning, look in the mirror, and wonder how you’ve suddenly aged so much. According to new research, if you’ve ever experienced this, you’re probably not delusional.

The findings of a new study on molecular changes associated with aging show that humans experience two sharp forward jumps during their lifetime, one around age 44 and the other around age 60. Michael Snyder“We don’t just change gradually over time, but in stages, there are really dramatic changes that are seen across all molecular groups,” said the study’s lead author from Stanford University.

Aging is a complex process that increases the risk of various diseases. In order to treat the diseases of aging, Snyder and colleagues have explored the biology of aging to better understand the nature of the changes and how they occur. To this end, they followed a group of 108 adults who donated biological samples every few months for several years.

Using the samples of their group, the researchers traced different types of biomolecules. The studied molecules included RNA, proteins, lipids, and gut, skin, nose, and mouth microbiome and included a total of 135,239 biological features.

Each participant donated an average of 47 samples over 626 days, and one participant provided 367 samples to the researchers. This volume of data resulted in more than 246 billion data points, which the researchers analyzed and looked for patterns of change.

Several previous studies have found non-linear changes in the abundance of molecules that can be associated with aging in rats and humans. Studies conducted on fruit flies, mice and zebrafish have also pointed to the gradual aging process in these species.

Snyder and his colleagues found that apparent changes in the abundance of different types of molecules in the human body occur in two distinct phases. About 81% of the molecules studied showed changes during one or both of these steps. Changes peak in the middle of the fifth decade and again in the early seventh decade of life with slightly different indicators.

Around the peak of the fifth decade of life, changes were observed in molecules related to the metabolism of fats, caffeine and alcohol, as well as cardiovascular diseases and skin and muscle function disorders. The peak of the early seventh decade of life was also associated with changes in molecules related to carbohydrate and caffeine metabolism, cardiovascular disease, skin and muscle, immune regulation, and kidney function.

The first peak in the middle of the fifth decade usually coincides with the time when women approach menopause; But the researchers ruled out menopause as the main cause of the observed changes, because molecular changes were also observed in men of the same age. According to the authors, although menopause or premenopause may play a role in the changes observed in women in the average fifth decade of life, there are probably other important factors that affect these changes in both sexes, and the identification and study of these factors should be among the research priorities. be the future

The researchers note that their sample size was very small, and they tested limited biological samples from people aged 25 to 70. Future research can help further investigate this phenomenon and study it in more detail to gain a better understanding of how the human body changes over time.

Research in the journal Nature Aging has been published.