A new study suggests that younger generations may biologically age faster than previous generations. This could explain why certain types of cancer are more common in people under 55.
Current analyses of a study by the School of Medicine in St. Louis, published in the journal Nature Medicine, come to a troubling conclusion: People born after 1965 may biologically age faster than earlier generations.
What is the study about? It is not about whether someone looks older. The researchers examined how old the body appears on a biological level. Blood values and health data were analyzed to estimate whether organs and metabolism are aging faster than one might expect based on their birth date.
This involved analyzing health data from over 164,000 people. The data came from large health databases in the USA and the UK. The result: People born after 1965 showed more signs of accelerated biological aging.
Particularly affected are younger adults from Generation Z and the Millennial generation.
Faster Aging
What else was examined? The researchers see a possible connection with types of cancer that are more common among younger adults. The Harvard University already indicated in October that cancer rates have been declining in recent decades. However, at the same time, the frequency of 14 specific types of cancer among people under 50 years old increased between 2010 and 2019.
And the latest study now suggests that accelerated biological aging could be a factor. The larger the gap between biological age – meaning the age the body appears to have – and chronological age – meaning the number of years we have actually lived – the higher the cancer risk, according to the researchers.
The press release from Washington University states: “Our primary goal is to decipher how modern environments become biologically entrenched and increase cancer risk, and to transform prevention from general recommendations into personalized interventions,” says one of the researchers, Yin Cao.
This brings researchers closer to the early detection of risks and the development of prevention strategies tailored to individual biology. However, the study also notes: “Since early-onset cancers are relatively rare, these questions require […] long follow-up periods.”
The results show that younger generations may develop health risks earlier than previously thought. At the same time, the researchers note that questions remain, for example: Why do some bodies age faster? What do you think is the reason behind these findings?
Another researcher has also shown something interesting in a completely different area: Using a few goats in Age of Empires 2, he explains why AI may not be as special as many think: A researcher currently shows with goats in Age of Empires why AI is not that special
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