Reading the biological clock
The team set out to understand how these biological changes varied across different generations, especially in people who are currently under 50.
They reviewed the electronic health records of more than 164,000 people – roughly 154,000 from the UK and 10,000 from the US. They looked at their blood tests and other health data to measure biomarkers associated with ageing of the whole body (systemic) and of specific organs.
By comparing the level of each biomarker to the amount expected for their age, the team estimated whether someone appeared biologically ‘older’ or ‘younger’ than their chronological age.
Their results showed that, biologically speaking, younger generations may be ageing faster than previous generations. When they looked at systemic ageing markers, PROSPECT’s researchers found that people born between the mid-1960s and the mid-1970s had a 23% higher level of accelerated biological ageing than those born in the early 1950s. This meant that their bodies were acting a bit more like those of older people.
The team also found that people whose bodies were biologically older than their chronological age had a higher risk of developing cancer before they turned 55, particularly lung, gastrointestinal and uterine (womb or endometrial) cancer.
Outside of systemic ageing, the researchers also found links between ageing of specific parts of the body and certain cancers. For example, a biologically older immune system appeared to be linked with a higher risk of lung cancer. And they found a similar association between ‘older’ fat tissue with an increased risk of bowel cancer.
“These findings suggest that accelerated biological ageing could reflect the combined impact of our lifestyles and environments on the body over time, potentially helping explain why some cancers are appearing earlier in younger generations,” says Dr David Scott, Director of Cancer Grand Challenges.
