Why more younger people are developing early-onset cancer, per study
A US study has found the possible reason why more people under the age of 50 are developing cancer early: younger generations are aging faster at a cellular level.
The study focusing on "Biological aging and generational shifts in early-onset cancer risk" conducted by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine, US, found that young people are showing a growing gap between their chronological age (the number of birthdays they have had) and their biological age (how much cellular damage their body has undergone).
According to a report by German public broadcast network Deutsche Welle, for the first time, researchers have linked this biological aging gap directly to an increased risk of early-onset cancer.
Higher gaps
To measure biological age, researchers analyzed nine key blood health indicators. Looking data from nearly 150,000 individuals in the UK Biobank, the researchers compared people born between 1950 and 1954 to those born between 1965 and 1974. They found a higher gap between the chronological and biological ages of the younger batch.
Using data from over 10,000 American individuals, researchers found consistent results and an even significantly higher gap, with participants born in the 1990s displaying much higher deviations compared to those born in the late 1960s.
Rising cancer risk
Based on data from the study, cancer diagnoses of people under 50 increased by 24% globally between 1990 and 2019.
In the US, , cancers such as multiple myeloma, colorectal cancer, and uterine cancer have been "trending" in younger adults.
In fact, early-onset colorectal cancer increased fourfold in people born in the 1990s compared to those born in the 1960s particularly in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US.
The number of American colorectal cancer patients under 55 increased from 11% in 1995 to 20% in 2019, while women born in the mid-1980s face twice the risk of uterine cancer compared to those born in 1950. In the UK, diagnoses of colorectal cancer among adults aged 50 to 54 rose steadily between 2008 and 2017.
"Together, these patterns suggest the influence of emerging generational risk factors," the study read.
How to slow one's biological aging
Experts suggest that lifestyle habits play a major role in driving this trend. Epidemiologist Tanwei Yuan, per DW, theorized the reason for the increasing speed of biological aging of younger generations: early obesity, sedentary lifestyles, and a lack of good-quality sleep.
She added, young people also have a tendency to not see a doctor when they feel unwell, taking for granted the value of a healthy lifestyle.
According to hematologist Ron Jachimowicz, head of Max Planck Research Group for Biology of Aging, about 50% of a person's biological age can be influenced by a healthy lifestyle. The other 50% is genetically predetermined, as reported by DW.
He noted that the "typical lifestyle interventions" could help slow the aging process, i.e., regular exercise, a balanced diet, enough sleep, and abstinence from drugs and alcohol.
