The research group indicates that their subjects belong to a relatively small sample, and that they studied a limited biological sample of individuals aged 25 to 70. According to the research, future studies may help better understand this phenomenon by examining it in a larger group of people to better understand how the human body changes over time.
"The process of human aging is complex and is associated with an increased risk of developing all types of diseases," says genetics researcher Michael Snyder from Stanford University. He and his colleagues in aging biology study changes occurring in the organism with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of their origins to mitigate and treat emerging disorders.
To achieve this goal, the team tracked a group of 108 adults, who regularly provided biological samples over the course of several years. The peak of significant changes, in the middle of the lifespan, was linked to changes in molecules related to fat metabolism and also to cardiovascular diseases, as well as each individual’s metabolic disruptions.
The peak in the early sixties was associated with carbohydrate and caffeine metabolism, as well as cardiovascular issues linked to inflammation and heart function. Researchers note that the first peak, in middle age, is usually associated with the onset of climacteric periods or pre-climacteric states in women, but researchers excluded it as a main factor, since changes at the molecular level were also noted in men of the same age.
"This indicates that although the climacteric period or pre-climacteric state may contribute to the observed changes in women in middle age, there is a likelihood that other more important factors influence these changes in both men and women," explained specialist in metabolic processes and the lead author of the study, Syaota Shin from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
