This way they were able to tell how well the gene set both expressed the subject’s current biological age, and how accurately it predicted their risk for various diseases or conditions. They then examined the results of medical tests on the participants in many different areas, both physiological and cognitive over many years. The methodology of the study involved taking RNA samples from the muscle of the participants in a subject group of the same age, then isolating the 150 gene set hypothesized to be reflective of biological age. This RNA signature has great potential to assist research aimed at finding treatments for and/or management of AD (Alzheimer’s Disease) and other ageing-related conditions.” 2 “We identify a novel and statistically robust multi-tissue RNA signature of human healthy ageing that can act as a diagnostic of future health, using only a peripheral blood sample. One study published in the journal Genome Biology attempts to isolate a group of 150 genes that collectively give a well-rounded picture of someone’s biological age. The short answer might be: how healthy are you? But there’s a race on to figure out a deeper and more scientifically specific metric. They correctly posit that a metric for calculating biological age would be far more significant and accurate. The researchers went so far as to suggest that doctors shouldn’t consider chronological age alone in their assessments of disease risk. They were aging slower than the average person in the group. This makes it clear that your lifestyle and the state of your body are a better indicator of your likelihood for disease or injury than merely your age.Ĭonversely, some participants had the health and physiology expected of someone younger than they were. Their minds were deteriorating at multiple times the rate that you would expect for someone their age. 1Įqually troubling is the cognitive decline of the fast-aging participants. These people had poorer balance than their peers, less motor coordination and less physical strength. These individuals scored worse on tests of a variety of skills and bodily systems, the day-to-day impact of which is clear. The fastest aging participants managed to suffer the deterioration of two to three years of aging over the course of a single calendar year. If you suspect that not everyone’s biological age matched their chronological age, you’re right, but you might find the range truly shocking. Condition of the brain’s blood vessels, by examining the analogous tiny blood vessels at the back of the eyes.Length of the telomeres (protective caps at the end of chromosomes that have been found to shorten with age.HDL cholesterol, cardiorespiratory fitness, lung function.The function of kidneys, liver, lungs, metabolic and immune systems.At each interval they took thorough measurements of the health and physiology of each participant to establish their biological age. The scientists tracked a group of 1,000 participants born in 1972-1973 over 12 years via three check-ins at ages 26, 32 and 38. Aging Is Different For EveryoneĮver notice how people who are the same age can seem like they’re not the same age? One person can be spry and healthy while another is hobbled and hunched, even though they were born on the very same year.Ī group of researches in New Zealand set out to examine exactly that phenomenon with a large and ambitious study that reveals a great deal about how humans age. We’ll also delve into the top causes of declining health attached to biological age, and ways to combat those detrimental changes. Today we’ll take an in-depth look at the scientifically-based difference between chronological age and biological age. According to the factors they consider, nearly every middle-aged and postmenopausal woman is a prime candidate to end up with an osteoporosis or osteopenia “diagnosis”. How is this relevant to your bone health? The Medical Establishment has defined osteoporosis as an inevitable “disease” that is linked to a certain time of your life based on your chronological age. There’s a lot more to how old you are than your age, and now more than ever, science is backing up that truth with studies and discoveries. It should come as no surprise that this wisdom, passed down through generations, is in fact an astute observation of aging.
#Bone age and chronological age full
Our culture is full of sayings and popular quotes about the relationship between our chronological age (the number of years since your birth) and how old we feel. “In the end it’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.”