Niamh Shackleton
A study has found that there's two points in life when the ageing process spikes.
Many might think that the ageing process is likely to increase drastically around the age a lot of people have kids (because, you know, being a parent to young kids can be particularly stressful), but this wasn't found to be the case.
In a study looking at 108 people aged between 25 to 75, all of whom hailed from California, US, the participants were subjected to comprehensive multi-omics profiling by researchers.
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The 108 people were 'tracked for a median period of 1.7 years, with a maximum follow-up duration of 6.8 years', the study explained.
And the findings were extremely interesting.
Molecule samples were taken form nose and mouth swab of the participants, which allowed scientists at the University of Stanford to analyze how different factors, such as blood pressure and sugar levels, varied over time.
According to the report, around 135,000 different molecules and microbes were studied, with researchers discovering the pair shifted around more commonly in two specific age groups.
As per the study, 81 percent of the California cohort underwent dramatic changes at two different ages: 44 and 60.
Speaking about the paper, Professor Michael Snyder, a geneticist and director of the Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine at Stanford University and senior author of the study, said: "We’re not just changing gradually over time. There are some really dramatic changes.
"It turns out the mid-40s is a time of dramatic change, as is the early 60s – and that’s true no matter what class of molecules you look at.
"I’m a big believer that we should try to adjust our lifestyles while we’re still healthy."
Many of the factors that shifted around these two ages were linked to heart health and showed declines in the participants’ ability to metabolize caffeine.
Moreover, the 44 and 60-year-olds showed high blood sugar levels and a protein linked to atherosclerosis — a build-up of fats and cholesterol on the artery walls — was increasingly spotted.
While the ageing spike at 44 usually coincides with the time some people with uterus’ start to go through perimenopause, one expert believes there are ‘likely other’ factors influencing the change.
Dr Xiaotao Shen, a former postdoctoral scholar at Stanford Medical School and first author of the study said: "This suggests that while menopause or perimenopause may contribute to the changes observed in women in their mid-40s, there are likely other, more significant factors influencing these changes in both men and women."