New study redefines the way we look at aging

A new scientific study breaks with the common conception that aging is a predictable and very similar deterioration process for all people, and offers possible answers to the great differences in functionality and health conditions even among family members.

Researchers of the Stanford University They concluded that, during the agingthere are organs in the body that age first than others, which can be a predictor of the diseases that develop. The data, published by the newspaper Washington Postare results of a study carried out with mice that had the same genetic material and were raised in identical conditions.

The study is part of the scientific trend that seeks to understand the aging process at the cellular and molecular level to further refine prevention and personalized medicine strategies. What is now known as the aging of the organs, can help decipher new forms of prevention to the extent that possible diseases can be anticipated.

Research indicates that there are people who have aged hearts, livers, brains, or muscles, meaning that those organs or body parts appear much older than the rest of the body. On the other side of the coin, these organs could also appear younger than the rest of the body, according to the work of a group of scientists, led by Dr. Hamilton Se-Hwee.

The data from the study join those of others who do the difference between the biological age of people and their chronological agewith which answers are sought to the discrepancies between people of the same age whose appearance and health are different, since one of them looks and feels younger than their years.

For their work, the researchers used the database UK Biobankwhich collects information on blood samples and health status of nearly 45,000 men and women who were between 40 and 70 years old when they joined said repository. In what represents one of the studies with the greatest amount of data on the aging of human organs, according to The Washington Postt, the researchers studied blood proteins that aged about 11 organs and compared the biological age of those organs with the chronological ages of the donors of that material. Likewise, they verified the illnesses or deaths of these people in the following decade. 33% of the people studied had at least one organ that was extremely aged for their biological age and 26% had two or more organs that were extremely aged for their age..

One of the most important conclusions of the study, which is still undergoing peer review, is that A relationship was found between the aging of organs, diseases and life expectancy. So, for example, people with hearts older than the rest of their body had a higher risk of heart disease; those with accelerated aging lungs developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; and those who had older livers had liver disease. Likewise, people with extremely old brains had a 3.4 times greater risk of developing the disease. Alzheimer’s disease. On the contrary, those who had younger brains compared to their body and chronological age were 81% less likely to develop this neurodegenerative condition.

In terms of life expectancy, people with young brains lived longer than those with damaged brains. Of all the organs, the state of brain was the one that could most accurately predict the level of mortality.

Although research still has some way to go, the goal of many scientists is to be able develop reliable tests that identify the type of aging at the cellular and organ level, with which prevention strategies can be adopted. Currently, there are some tests on the market, but, according to the scientists of the reference study, they do not yet offer accurate results.

However, it has been scientifically proven that people who have a lifestyle that includes physical activity and balanced diets – which include vegetables and fish and minimize the intake of processed foods high in fats and sugars, among others – age more quickly. healthy.

The World Health Organization (WHO) highlights that, in addition to genetic factors, healthy aging is also influenced by the social determinants of health, that is, the conditions and environment in which one lives.

According to the WHO, “the environment in which one lives during childhood, in combination with personal characteristics, has long-term effects on aging,” and that includes the physical and social environment, housing conditions, education and socioeconomic level, among others. These variables influence and can determine the decisions made about diet, physical activity, socialization, the search for emotional well-being, and healthy habits such as not smoking and not drinking excessive alcohol.

“Enabling environments, both physical and social, also make it easier for people to carry out the activities that are important to them, despite the loss of faculties. The availability of safe and accessible buildings and public transport, as well as places that are easy to walk, are examples of enabling environments. In formulating a public health response to aging, it is important to take into account not only the individual and environmental elements that buffer the losses associated with old age, but also those that can reinforce recovery, adaptation and psychosocial growth.indicates the WHO, on its official website.

Fountain: MedlinePlus; National Library of Medicine