"Inside, It's a Shock... A Daughter Born in the 1990s Ages Faster Than Her Mother Born in 1965"

U.S. Research Team Studies Biological Aging in Younger Generations
Linked to Rising Trend of Early-Onset Cancer

A recent study found that the younger the generation, the more likely it is that their biological age exceeds their chronological (actual) age. This phenomenon is cited as a reason for the increasing incidence of so-called “young cancers”—cancers diagnosed before the age of 50.

On September 14 (local time), U.S. science media Science Daily reported on a study led by a team at Washington University School of Medicine, published in the international journal Nature, analyzing trends in early-onset cancers.

The research team focused on the recent increase in cancer cases among patients diagnosed at relatively young ages. In fact, it was reported that globally, from 1990 to 2019, the number of cancer cases diagnosed before the age of 50 increased by 24%. There are also studies showing that people born in the 1990s in countries such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States have more than four times the risk of early-onset colorectal cancer compared to those born in the 1960s.

Aging. The Asia Business Daily DB

The team analyzed data from 154,169 people registered in the UK Biobank and 10,262 participants of the U.S. National Institutes of Health's “All of Us” program to identify the underlying causes. They found that the increase in cancers among younger people is associated with "biological age."

While "chronological age" refers to a person's actual age, "biological age" reflects how much the body has aged and is a different measure. Biological age can be estimated not just by chronological age but also by examining various biochemical markers in the blood.

In the United States, the gap in average biological age among those born between 1990 and 1999 was found to be 92% higher than for those born between 1965 and 1969. This does not mean that people born in the 1990s are aging physically 92% faster than those born in 1965, but rather that the generational gap in biological aging indicators, calculated based on chronological age, is that much greater.

For every one standard deviation increase in the gap between biological and chronological age, the risk of developing cancer before the age of 55 rose by 8%. The strongest association was found with cancers of the lung, followed by uterine cancer, gastrointestinal cancers, and others.

Why are today’s younger generations aging faster than those in the past? The research team pointed to the rapid increase in obesity and changes in lifestyle among recent generations as possible factors. Accumulated factors such as nutritional imbalance, prolonged sedentary behavior, and increased exposure to environmental chemicals may have led to chronic inflammation, genetic damage, or immune dysfunction.

However, the paper did not confirm these as definitive causes; instead, it suggested that further research is needed to clarify these factors. The researchers emphasized, "The ultimate goal is to understand how contemporary environments biologically imprint themselves on the body and increase cancer risk." They added, "By doing so, we can detect risks earlier and develop preventive strategies tailored to individual biological characteristics."

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