Scientists have long understood that the relationship between biological age and chronological age is quite flexible. However, researchers now report they have discovered the ability to reverse biological age.
Stress Accelerates Aging
Stressful medical experiences, such as undergoing major surgery or giving birth, can accelerate age-related changes in cells that will subsequently diminish during the recovery process.
Stressful events, such as an emergency surgery, seem to speed up “biological aging” for a time.
“Biological age” reflects the signs of age-related decline in our cells and tissues, which do not increase uniformly with our chronological age. Rather, new research indicates that biological aging can accelerate during stressful events and then reverse after those events.
Individuals undergoing major surgery may experience a faster increase in biological age than usual.
In other words, there are measurable biological markers related to age in cellular function, and these markers may emerge during stressful times and then disappear during recovery.
Biological Age Does Not Increase Uniformly Over Time
Biological age is “much more dynamic than previously thought,” according to Jesse Poganik, a postdoctoral researcher and chemical biologist at Harvard Medical School and the lead author of the new study. “You can experience very serious stressful events that cause an increase in biological age, but it may only last for a short time; if the stress is brief, then that age can be restored.”
In a study published on April 21 in the journal Cell Metabolism, researchers examined the impact of short-term but extreme physiological stress on the biological age of mice and humans.
They utilized what is known as a DNA methylation clock to quantify epigenetic changes (meaning inherited “above” or “on top of”) in the structure of DNA closely associated with aging. The process of DNA methylation involves small molecules, called methyl groups, being added to the surface of a DNA molecule, helping to control how and when specific genes can be “turned on” or “turned off.” Evidence suggests that DNA methylation patterns change throughout the lifespan and reflect biological aging.
Researchers investigated the biological age changes in individuals undergoing major surgeries, childbirth, or receiving intensive care due to severe Covid-19 infections. Blood samples from older patients undergoing emergency surgery showed a spike in biological age within 24 hours post-surgery, but their age returned to pre-surgery levels within one to two weeks.
However, Covid-19 survivors did not recover as quickly. While women returned to their pre-Covid-19 biological age within two weeks, men appeared not to recover. This indicates that, from a biological age perspective, the recovery timeline may depend on the type of stress and gender.
In blood samples from pregnant individuals, researchers found a peak in biological age around the time of delivery, typically returning to previous levels within six weeks postpartum.
Poganik stated: “While the study does not conclude on the impact of these biological milestones on lifelong aging, failing to recover after stressful events may accelerate the aging process.”
These fluctuations in biological age, which researchers believe can be observed under physiological stress conditions, are unlikely to arise from daily stress.
These findings may suggest opportunities for testing anti-aging drugs. Poganik noted: “If you can identify a pattern where age temporarily increases, you could use the recovery from that peak to test the effects of different drugs.”
