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Giant molecular changes happen in the human body in mid-40s and early 60s
Stanford Medicine has published stunning research showing that the human body undergoes two periods of massive, rapid, molecular change during an average lifespan. And no, neither is at the age teenagers are said to experience growing pains.
Were not just changing gradually over time, said the studys chief author Michael Snyder. There are some really dramatic changes. The researchers studied the microbiomes and molecular makeup of 108 participants and found evidence to challenge the common notion that the molecules and microbes that make up the human body shift in a broadly gradual, chronological fashion. Dramatic change is afoot, and inevitable, and thats true no matter what class of molecules you look at.
Human body experiences two periods of massive molecular change during a lifetime
The Stanford researchers analyzed blood and other samples from 108 people over a long period of time. They found that the vast majority of molecules in their biological samples showed non-linear fluctuations in number.
In other words, they changed more at certain ages than at other times.
These transformations happened the most at two distinct times in peoples lives. And they might not be when you expect: when people were in their mid-40s (specifically, aged 44!) and in their early 60s.
This may seem strange, but lead author Michael Snyder says its not all that surprising. At least, not all of it.
We already know that the risk of developing certain diseases and ailments increases sharply when people hit their 60s. The risk of developing many age-related diseases, especially those linked to neurological decline such as dementia, rises sharply in older age. That something changes on a molecular level around the age of 60 therefore ought to come as little surprise.
Men see a big change in their mid-40s
However, they couldnt pinpoint the reason men in their mid-40s see such an abrupt, seismic change in their molecular makeup.
Menopause and perimenopause explain some of the changes happening in womens bodies in their mid-40s, but they dont apply to men. The age range for menopause tends to be between 45 and 55, which sits squatly in between the two periods of transformation.
Surprisingly, both the male and female datasets exhibited similar clusters, reads the report, published in Nature.
Identifying and studying these factors [influencing these changes in men and women, but particularly men] should be a priority for future research, said Xiaotao Shen, one of the studys authors.
It turns out the mid-40s is a time of dramatic change, as is the early 60s, Snyder concluded. And thats true no matter what class of molecules you look at.
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