Scientists find ‘aging waves’ at 44 and 60 as they blow apart idea we gradually grow older

Feeling like you have aged sooner than you imagined?

A new study published in the journal Nature Aging has revealed that the ageing process happens in an ‘nonlinear increase’ for humans rather in stages. 

After extensive research, a team of Stanford scientists determined that age-related changes including slowing metabolism, wrinkling skin and increased proneness to diseases are dominantly seen in people at the age of 44 and 60. 

Dr Michael Snyder, a professor of genetics at Stanford University and senior author of the study said: ‘People assume everybody’s kind of aging gradually. It turns out that most changes are not linear.’

The team analyzed data from repeated collections of blood and stool samples and oral, skin and nasal swabs from 108 healthy people between the ages of 25 and 75 across California over a median period of 1.7 years. 

During analysis, scientists noticed that 81 percent of the observed molecules including proteins and RNA changed in at least one wave. 

The team ultimately concluded substantial dysregulation occurring at two major periods – with the age of 44 causing the biggest shift. 

Dr. Steve Hoffmann, a computational biologist at Leibniz Institute on Aging in Germany told the Wall Street Journal: ‘These studies probably align very well with the experiences we have ourselves, or heard from others who perceive a sudden decline in physiological fitness.’

In people in their 40s, significant changes were seen in the number of molecules related to alcohol, caffeine and lipid metabolism; cardiovascular disease; and skin and muscle

In those in their 60s, changes were related to carbohydrate and caffeine metabolism, immune regulation, kidney function, cardiovascular disease, and skin and muscle.

‘Identifying and studying these factors should be a priority for future research,’ said Dr Xiaotao Shen, a former Stanford Medicine postdoctoral scholar, and now an assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University Singapore.

In people in their 40s, significant changes were seen in the number of molecules related to alcohol, caffeine and lipid metabolism; cardiovascular disease; and skin and muscle.

In those in their 60s, changes were related to carbohydrate and caffeine metabolism, immune regulation, kidney function, cardiovascular disease, and skin and muscle.

It’s possible some of these changes could be tied to lifestyle or behavioral factors that cluster at these age groups, Dr Snyder said.

The findings suggest individuals must pay attention to their health in their 40s and 60s

For example, dysfunction in alcohol metabolism could result from an uptick in alcohol consumption in people’s mid-40s, often a stressful period of life.

The team plans to explore the drivers of these clusters of change.

But the findings suggest individuals must pay attention to their health in their 40s and 60s, the researchers said.

That could look like increasing exercise to protect your heart and maintain muscle mass, or decreasing alcohol consumption.

‘I’m a big believer that we should try to adjust our lifestyles while we’re still healthy,’ Dr Snyder said.