Individuals whose biological age is higher than their actual age are at greater risk of developing a stroke.
People age at different rates, hence the importance of distinguishingage real or “chronological” of age “biological”. Biological age measuresstate of health of your body and its aging independently of your years of life (real age). It is influenced by different factors such as geneticthe lifestyle (diet, physical activity, alcohol consumption, tobacco etc) and the environment. People whose biological age is greater than their actual age have a significantly higher risk of stroke according to a study carried out by Swedish researchers and published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
The rather “imprecise” chronological age
The older we get, the greater the risk of diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and degenerative disorders. “But as people age at different rateschronological age is a fairly imprecise measure” indicates Sara Hägg, Professor of molecular epidemiology at the Karolinska Institute (Sweden) and co-author of the study. To study the risk of stroke according to biological agethe researchers used the data from 325,000 people aged 40 to 70 from the British biobank. They calculated biological age by analyzing 18 biomarkers such as the blood lipids, blood sugar, blood pressure or the body mass index (BMI). They then analyzed the relationship between these indicators and the risk to develop neurological diseases such as the stroke.
Results: During a average follow-up of 9 yearsscientists recorded 2,515 cases of stroke ischemic (most common form). “We constated that advanced biological aging is associated with increased risk of several neurological diagnoses associated with age, most important effects being observed for the dementia from all causesthere vascular dementia and thestroke“ the researchers explained in their findings. Regarding stroke “if a person’s biological age is 5 years older at his real age, this person has 40% more risk to suffer a stroke” has commented Jonathan Mak, doctoral student at the Karolinkska Institute and co-author of the study. Weaker associations were observed between biological age and Alzheimer’s disease or motor neurone disease (the most common being ALS or motor neuron disease). Charcot). THE A link with the risk of Parkinson’s disease has not been established. The results “can be influenced by lifestyle and treatments” nuance Sara Hägg.
Delaying the aging process of the body could thus delay the appearance of diseases, conclude the researchers who now want to study the link between biological age and risk of developing cancer.