Ageing is an inevitable process, yet its pace can vary significantly from person to person. Factors such as diet, lifestyle choices, overall health, and self-care practices all contribute to this phenomenon. However, recent research indicates that gender also plays a crucial role in the ageing process, with men generally ageing faster than women.
A study published in the Journals of Gerontology: Series A sheds light on this gender discrepancy in ageing. Researchers discovered that beyond the age of 50, men tend to age at a faster rate compared to women. This conclusion was drawn from assessing biological age, which is determined by biophysiological measures rather than chronological age. For instance, a 30-year-old individual might have a biological age of 40 due to heightened susceptibility to age-related health issues.
Interestingly, the study revealed that this gap is particularly pronounced among younger men in their 20s, highlighting a significant difference in biological age between genders at an early stage of adulthood.
To conduct this research, participants were divided into two age groups: a younger cohort ranging from 21 to 42 years old, and an older group spanning from 50 to 76 years old. Epigenetic clocks, which employ algorithms to estimate biological age, were utilized for measurement purposes. The findings indicated that male siblings tended to exhibit an older biological age compared to their female counterparts, even when raised in similar environments with identical genetic backgrounds.
Notably, lifestyle-related factors were not identified as primary contributors to this difference in biological age, although they are acknowledged to impact overall ageing. For instance, while two men of the same age may lead vastly different lifestyles—one embracing healthy habits and the other engaging in excessive alcohol consumption and smoking—their biological ages may not necessarily align. Conversely, a man and a woman of the same age may still exhibit distinct biological ages solely due to their gender differences, with female sex hormones, particularly estrogen, potentially playing a role in maintaining a more youthful biological age.
In essence, while lifestyle choices undoubtedly influence ageing, this study underscores the significant impact of gender on the ageing process, suggesting that biological age discrepancies between men and women persist even in individuals with similar genetic backgrounds and lifestyle factors.