I had a chronological birthday on March 8th. My recent blood work was perfect! I’ve known for many years that we don’t just have a chronological age, but we all have a biological and a physiological age! Too much assumption is made out of aging! Everything has to do with what we have or haven’t done to ourselves throughout our life. The amount of research on aging is tremendous. This article encompasses some of that.
In order to better understand the aging processes, it is important to identify early biological and physiological indicators of decline and loss of physical abilities. It is for example significant to examine the importance of early signs of aging in middle-aged, elderly, and extremely chronologically older people. That means those who haven’t effectively cared for themselves all their lives.
Recent studies show that the interaction between birth weight, weight development, and cognitive function in youth has an influence on the physical and mental abilities in middle-age.
Previous studies have found that approximately 25% of the variation in lifespan is caused by genetic factors. With regard to the variation in our physical and cognitive abilities in extreme chronological age, about 50% of the variation in lifespan can be attributed to genetic factors. According to a research study from the Danish Aging Research Center, it is known that few specific genes are of importance, but if these genes are identified that they can possibly establish a basis for a better understanding of loss of physical abilities and early mortality as well as possible intervention.
However, the aging process are extremely complex, so it will not be sufficient only to study the biological components. Social factors and health behaviors will also have a great influence on the aging processes and lifespan but the question is, to what extent does a genetic predisposition for good health prove to be robust with regard to a social class impact. Recent research suggests that stress throughout life – from fetal stage to chronologically older age – is affecting the aging process. Favorable conditions later in adult life may be able to compensate for strains early in life, but genetic factors and favorable social conditions early in life may also produce resources enough to endure stress and strains later in life.
Over the last 150 years, the average lifespan for Danes has increased significantly. The question is however, whether it is good and active years being added to life or is it years which are characterized by decreased physical abilities and illness. Studies indicate that we are surviving serious illnesses to a greater extent than earlier, but comparisons between various birth cohorts indicate that the concomitant loss of physical abilities is relatively small. The subject is however sparsely elucidated.
Since the 1950s it has been a known theory that the telomeres hold the human genome which shortens with every cell division and when the length of the telomeres reaches a critical level, the cell will not be able to divide further. That is why the length of the telomere is designated as an upper limit for human longevity. But is it true that this biological component puts a limit to human longevity? For a number of years the Aarhus group has attempted to examine these hypotheses in detail, among other things on the basis of the question whether women’s better survival rate is proportion to men’s rate is affected by this molecular mechanism.
Shorter telomere length is associated with advancing chronological age and also increased disease morbidity and mortality. Emerging studies suggest that stress accelerates the erosion of telomeres from very early in life and possibly even influences the initial (newborn) setting of telomere length. In this review, it was highlighted recent empirical evidence linking stress and mental illnesses at various times across the lifespan with telomere erosion. At first present findings in developmental programming of telomere biology linked prenatal stress to newborn and adult telomere length. Present findings linking exposure to childhood trauma and to certain mental disorders with telomere shortening. The studies that characterized the relationship between related health-risk behaviors with telomere shortening over the lifespan, and how this process may further buffer the negative effects of stress on telomeres. A better understanding of the mechanisms that govern and regulate telomere biology throughout the lifespan may inform researchers understanding of etiology and the long-term consequences of stress and mental illnesses on aging processes in diverse populations and settings. Measuring how your telomeres are doing can be determined through a blood test. For more information on telomeres, please refer to the article on my website. www.hormoneshealthfitnessandnutrition.com
Why do males live shorter lives than females when they seem to have better health?
Most studies show males in general are significantly healthier than females and that they have higher physical abilities. It is therefore a paradox that women of all ages still have a lower mortality rate. A possible explanation for this phenomenon could be the chromosome difference. To test the validity of this hypothesis, data from the longitudinal cohort study of extreme chronological age are combined with the molecular and genetic expertise in the study by Aarhus/Vejle.
Are environmental stressors important parameters in the development of age associated disease.
We are constantly being exposed to stress from our environment and our own metabolism. Where reactive oxygen species (ROS) are concerned, they are being produced when DNA, RNA and proteins are oxidized, which can lead to a reduction in the body’s macromolecules. Researchers at the Danish Aging Research Center are planning to examine the degree of the oxidized process in aged individuals and twins with a view to look deeper into the likelihood of whether the maintenance of DNA is reduced with chronologically aged individuals and where the molecular defect might be. Reactive oxygen species serves as cell signaling molecules for normal biological processes. However, the generation of ROS can also provoke damage to multiple cellular organelles and processes, which can ultimately disrupt normal physiology. An imbalance between the production of ROS and the antioxidant defenses that protect cells has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases, such as cancer, asthma, pulmonary hypertension, and retinopathy.
It is important to identify early biological and physiological indicators of decline in the loss of physical abilities. It is for example significant to examine the importance of early signs of aging in middle-aged, elderly, and extremely elderly people in all aspects (biological and physiological).
Recent studies show that the interaction between birth weight, weight development and cognitive function in youth has influenced on the physical and mental abilities in middle age. Still, only few cohorts with data from birth to old-age have been employed, which is why there is not enough information about the interaction between strain and resources available.
There is plenty of research on how well you are aging. Yale Medical School have confirmed that humans have two ages: a chronological age. Which is your age based on when you were born, and a phenotypic or biological age, which is the age at which your body functions as described above.
You truly can be 80 in chronological numbers but have the health and functioning of a 65-year old.
Morgan Levine, a professor and researcher at Yale says “One of the most recent ones is based on blood measures you get at your normal doctor’s appointment. We basically take those and combine them using different algorithms to get what we call someone’s phenotypic age, or biological age.” Levine explains that this testing reveals how your body functions compared to average fitness or health levels for your age.
Also “people of the same chronological age aren’t all at the same risk for developing cardiovascular disease or cancer or even dying,” Levine said. “What the biological age does is actually give us a better idea of where someone stands for their age overall.”
“In my work, I’ve seen retired Olympic athletes in their 70s whose dexterity and ability to move is more like a 20-year-old and others who stopped exercising completely when they stepped down from the podium, so at 50 their biological age was likely closer to an 80-year-old.
