Surprising Facts About Organs Aging. 10 Methods to Slow Down Organ Aging.

DIFFERENT ORGANS AGE DIFFERENTLY

According to a new study, not all of our body’s organs age equally. According to research published in the journal Genome Biology, Steve Horvath, a geneticist at UCLA’s medical school, has developed a novel method for determining the biological age of body tissue. Horvath developed the metric by analyzing data from 8,000 samples of 51 different cells and tissues. He investigated methylation, a process that alters the structure of DNA and regulates gene expression. This process transforms undifferentiated cells into specialized tissues.

But once tissue-specific cells are generated, they are exposed to substances that age them and modify their DNA. Heart cells, for example, have distinct DNA modifications than skin cells. It was observed that when we are born, our bodies expand rapidly. By the age of 20, the clock slows and becomes more steady. It was also discovered that various organs age at different rates, with breasts being among the “oldest” in the body. Breast tissue is two to three years older than the rest of a woman’s body, whereas healthy tissue surrounding malignant tissue is 12 years older.

Horvath also determined the age of cancer cells. According to the biological clock, tumor tissue is on average 36 years older than normal, healthy human tissue. This may help to explain why cancer becomes a more significant danger as we age. Additionally, the study discovered that a woman’s breast tissue matures many years more rapidly than the rest of her body, which may help explain why breast cancer is the most frequent kind of cancer in women. Please find out more about Breast Cancer and how to combat it. In our article, Click here.

Picture Courtesy: www.businessinsider.com/some-parts-of-your-body-age-faster-2013-10. This image shows at what average age the certain organs in males and females start to decline.

These DNA ages of tissues are different for men and women. The following table summarizes different organs aging.

Organs	Age
Eyes	Vision change is a prevalent condition among individuals aged 41 to 60.
Muscles	Age-related muscle loss is a natural aspect of aging. After the age of 30, it is found to begin to lose between 3% and 5% of your height every decade. During their lifetimes, most men will lose around 30% of their muscular mass.
Bones	Most adults attain maximal bone mass between 25 and 30. After 40, people start losing bone mass.
Lungs	The lungs develop between 20 and 25 years old. Lung function often declines beyond the age of 35.
Skin	According to experts, skin aging typically begins around the age of 25.
Brain	The brain’s total volume diminishes in the 30s or 40s and accelerates around age 60. But the volume loss isn’t consistent – certain parts decrease more quickly than others.
Heart	Adults 65 years and older are more prone to suffer from cardiovascular disease than younger adults.
Kidneys	The conventional “Rule of Thumb” is that kidney function begins to diminish around the age of 40 and continues to decline at a rate of approximately 1% each year after that.
Ovaries	By the age of 30, fertility begins to drop. Once women reach their mid-30s, this drop accelerates.
Prostate	Starting around age 25, the adult prostate begins to enlarge slowly.
Breasts	Most breast aging changes occur around menopause. This change usually happens between 45 and 55.

HOW DO OUR ORGANS AGE? WHAT CAUSES IT?

Cells are the fundamental constituents of tissues and organs. All cells undergo modifications as they age. They grow in size and lose their ability to split and replicate—the number of pigments and fatty compounds within the cell increases, among other changes. Numerous cells either cease to function or begin to act improperly. Waste materials accumulate in tissue as we age. Lipofuscin, a fatty brown pigment, and other fatty compounds accumulate in numerous tissues.

Throughout age, all essential organs begin to lose function. Organs aging occurs as you age due to cell and tissue composition changes. Organs that are deteriorating steadily lose their ability to function. Most individuals do not feel this loss right away since they often do not require their organs to work to their maximum capacity.  Organs aging changes occur in every cell, tissue, and organ in the body, affecting the functioning of every human body system.

AGING ORGANS

The Heart

Heart disease accounts for 40% of deaths among adults aged 65 to 74. (60% for those over 80).

• The most prevalent alteration associated with aging is an increase in the stiffness of the big arteries, referred to as arteriosclerosis of arterial hardening.
• Changes in the electrical system associated with aging can result in arrhythmias—a fast, slowed, or irregular heartbeat.
• The heart’s chambers may enlarge, thus overall increasing the heart size.

Aging can alter the heart and blood arteries, increasing an individual’s chance of getting cardiovascular disease. That is why adults 65 or older are more prone to develop heart disease.

Most Americans’ hearts are older than their true organ age according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Lungs

Your lungs’ greatest capacity for air—your total lung capacity—is around 6 liters.  As with other organs, age has its toll on the respiratory system. The ability to perform at the highest level steadily diminishes over time.

By the time a person reaches the age of roughly 20-25, the lungs have matured. After the age of 35, their function begins to deteriorate, and as a result, breathing might gradually become more complex. In an individual without lung illness, most of these alterations are caused by changes in the circulatory and muscular systems, not by the lungs themselves. Other significant changes include:

• The diaphragm can weaken over time, affecting one’s capacity to inhale and exhale with the help of this muscle.
• Ribcage bones grow thinner and more irregular form, impairing the ribcage’s ability to extend and contract while breathing.
• Cough-inducing nerves become less sensitive to foreign particles. Particles that accumulate in the lungs can cause lung disease.
• The immune system may deteriorate as individuals age, making people more susceptible to influenza (the flu) and pneumonia.

The Kidneys

Being one of the organs that age the fastest, the kidney exhibits age-related declines in some structures and functioning.

• Between 30 and 80 years, kidney mass diminishes, with the greatest drop occurring after age 50.
• Around the age of 30 to 40, around two-thirds of individuals (including those without kidney impairment) see a gradual decrease in the pace at which their kidneys filter blood. By 75, even in typical aging kidneys, 30% of glomeruli are damaged.
• The bladder wall undergoes modification and weakens over time. The elastic tissue stiffens and the bladder loses its stretchiness. The bladder is unable to contain as much urine as it once could.
• While most men undergo benign prostate gland growth as they age, this prostatic hyperplasia can potentially be a symptom of cancer. Learn more about prostate health here.
• According to research, around 11.6% of adults aged 65 to 80 years suffer incontinence; this number increases to approximately 35% in those over 85.

The Brain

• As the brain ages, the number of neurons decreases, neurotransmitters get depleted, and blood flow decreases to the brain.
• The brain loses roughly 0.1% of neurons every year between 20 and 60, then the process accelerates.
• Gait difficulties (unable to walk in the usual way), postural hypotension (lightheadedness when standing up from sitting or lying down), decreased bladder control, and loss of short-term memory are all examples of age-related nervous system impairments.
• By 90, brain mass will have declined by roughly 11% compared to those in their 50s, or around 150g of neural tissue.
• It’s not always easy to differentiate between normal cognitive changes and dementia-related cognitive alterations. Normal aging results in a loss in brain reserve, although cognition is preserved due to the brain’s inherent diversity and neurological adaptation.

The Stomach and Digestive System

The prevalence of some gastrointestinal problems is alarmingly high among the elderly. For example, more than half of senior residents in care facilities suffer from chronic constipation, and up to 74% of this population uses laxatives on a regular basis.

• In older people, reduced appetite and food intake may lead to weight loss and malnutrition.
• Dry mouth is a frequent symptom of aging.
• Peristalsis slows down with age in the esophagus and colon, resulting in dysphagia, reflux, and constipation.
• Age-related changes in the number of gut microbes increase the risk of bacterial infection.
• With age, stomach emptying slows down, extending feelings of fullness and decreasing hunger.

The Reproductive Organs Aging (Male /Female)

• Middle age affects both men and women and results in modifications to the reproductive system that eventually result in infertility – although males remain fertile for a longer period of time. Check out how aging affects fertility in this article and other factors causing infertility here.
• Between middle and old age, fertility declines gradually as the production of sex hormones alters.
• Women go through significant changes in their estrogen and progesterone levels during perimenopause and menopause. Around 95% of women go through menopause between 44 and 56 years, the average age being 50.7 – read more about menopause here.
• Men also undergo hormonal changes, although the andropause symptoms are less severe than those experienced by women. Men begin to see a decline in serum testosterone levels of around 1-1.4 % every year in their 30s.

HOW DIFFERENTLY DO MEN AND WOMEN AGE?

Without a doubt, men and women age differently, and so do their organs. Genetics, lifestyle, diet, and environment affect how people of either gender age, but men and women age at a completely distinct rate and pace. Let’s discuss how aging differs between men and women.

• Hormones. Aging affects several hormones in men and women. Changes in estrogen levels associated with aging are a major source of concern for women. This is especially true during and following menopause. Changes in testosterone levels are the primary hormonal component of aging in males. Males may undergo a more progressive reduction in their hormone levels, for example, gradually lowered testosterone levels about 1% per year after the age of 30.
• Skin Related Changes. Male skin is 25% thicker than female skin, say, dermatologists. The proportion may vary from person to person, but the total is the same. Male faces have far fewer wrinkles than women’s, but they are deeper than their female counterparts.
• Longevity. According to a study published in Gender Medicine and other research on worldwide life expectancy, women have lived longer than males in every country and age. Males now have an average life expectancy of 69-70 years, while females have an average life expectancy of 73-77 years (although it will vary according to where you live and what resources you have access to in terms of nutrition and lifestyle, and health care).
• Brain Aging. Men and women age difference in their brains. Men who are obese, have diabetes or have had a stroke are at an increased risk of cognitive impairment. On the other hand, women are more likely to experience mental impairment if they rely on others for everyday chores and do not have a strong social network.
• Sexual Functions. Male and female sexual function and aging are markedly different. With menopause, a woman’s body responds rapidly to aging, but a man’s body responds more gradually.

The illustrations for men’s and women’s organ aging are based on text descriptions. The healthspan and longevity trends are from Li et al., 2021.