Science & Technology

Do some people age faster than others ?

By T.K. Randall
October 1, 2016 ·  40 comments

Are some people destined to age at a faster rate ? Image Credit: CC BY 2.0 Mike Baird For years scientists have struggled with the idea that some people, no matter how much they exercise or how well they eat, may end up dying younger than other individuals of the same age.

Now according to researchers at the University of California, this increased chance of an early death may occur because some people's internal biological clocks are running at an accelerated rate.

"You get people who are vegan, sleep 10 hours a day, have a low-stress job, and still end up dying young," said biostatistician Steve Horvath who headed up the research."We've shown some people have a faster innate ageing rate."

The team found that individuals with a higher biological age, regardless of their actual age, had a much higher risk of dying no matter how healthy they are.

The 5% who age the fastest of all have a 50% increased risk of death throughout their whole lives.

"The great hope is that we find anti-ageing interventions that would slow your innate ageing rate," said Horvath. "This [research] is an important milestone to realizing this dream."

Source: The Guardian | Comments (40)

Tags: Aging