Aging is the result of a combination of physical, environmental, and social factors. At the molecular level, aging is closely related to the reduction of tissue and organ repair and regenerative potential. Molecular mechanisms such as telomere shortening, accumulation of DNA damage, metabolic alterations, and excessive ROS production stunt cell proliferation, alter metabolism and gene expression patterns, and induce high levels of ROS production, maintaining the cellular senescent phenotype.
The study found that healthy agers had higher levels of certain metabolites associated with healthy aging, while rapid agers had higher levels of metabolites associated with rapid aging. These findings suggest that the metabolome, the complete set of metabolites in the body, could serve as a potential biomarker of biological aging.