Until recently, ageing was widely regarded as an inevitable, genetically determined process. But mounting scientific evidence is challenging that notion, suggesting ageing may not only be influenced by external factors, but actively slowed.
"Ageing is currently one of the greatest health, social, and economic problems. We live longer, but often in poor health, which poses a huge challenge for healthcare systems and entire societies, said Dr. Ewelina Pośpiech, a molecular biologist and epigenetics specialist at the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Poland.
As global life expectancy rises, researchers are increasingly framing ageing not as an unalterable backdrop to chronic disease, but as a root cause and a direct therapeutic target.
“Research groups around the world are increasingly focusing not only on treating specific diseases, but also on ageing itself,” Pośpiech said. “Ageing as such is becoming a target, as it is the most important risk factor for most conditions: from cancer to heart disease and dementia.”
According to the World Health Organization, the number of people aged 60 and older is expected to double by 2050. Without extending healthspan alongside lifespan, experts warn, healthcare systems worldwide could be overwhelmed.
But a new frontier in ageing research known as biological rejuvenation is offering hope.
“Simulations show that if each of us were to biologically rejuvenate by just seven years, the incidence of chronic diseases could drop by as much as about 50 percent,” Pośpiech explained. “This means that half of us could avoid serious health problems.”
At the center of this approach is the study of epigenetics, particularly DNA methylation, chemical tags that influence gene activity without altering the underlying genetic code.
“Every cell in our body has the same DNA, yet they don't function the same way,” Pośpiech said. “For example, a heart muscle cell behaves differently than a skin cell. This behaviour is determined by epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, which involves the attachment of special chemical groups to DNA strands, which allows us to control gene activity.”
Crucially, these modifications are not fixed. Environmental and lifestyle factors, such as diet, physical activity, sleep quality, psychological stress, and exposure to pollutants, can all alter DNA methylation and, by extension, biological ageing.
“That means what we eat, how we move, whether we smoke cigarettes, how stressed we are. All of this leaves a mark on our DNA, in the form of its methylation,” she said.
Unlike genetic mutations, which are permanent, epigenetic changes are reversible, even later in life.
“Epigenetics offers hope for non-invasive, easily accessible, and personalized methods of supporting health,” said Pośpiech. “We can decide at any time to change our lifestyle and introduce healthy habits, and this will have a real impact on the functioning of our genes. It is truly amazing.”
To quantify these changes, scientists have developed so-called epigenetic clocks - algorithms that assess DNA methylation patterns to estimate biological age.
“Epigenetic clock algorithms analyse hundreds of places in DNA where methylation changes with age,” Pośpiech explained.
“These biological calendars allow us to read the body's condition much more precisely than based on chronological age, and, more importantly, to see how lifestyle changes affect this condition.”
She said the clocks are not only diagnostic tools but also powerful instruments for tailoring and evaluating personalized health strategies.
“This not only gives insight into whether a given intervention is working, but also provides a potential tool for personalising recommendations, i.e., tailoring an individual health plan based on a person's epigenetic profile.”
With DNA methylation testing becoming more affordable, Pośpiech believes this technology could soon become a standard feature of personalized medicine.
“Technological advances are rapid and significant. Until recently, methylation analysis was expensive and complicated. Today, sequencing costs are dropping, and our teams are working on methods that aim to improve the implementation of such methods in practice,” she said. “The ultimate goal is to tailor interventions and treatments to suit the individual, their genes, epigenetics, and living environment.”
A case in point, she said, was stopping smoking. “After quitting, the body needs an average of four years to completely restore a normal DNA methylation pattern, but the risk of developing smoking-related diseases will decrease faster, day by day,” she said.
“Also, as our research indicates, introducing other health-promoting behaviours can accelerate the process of restoring normal methylation, and epigenetic clocks can be used to measure the effectiveness of all these activities and adjust them.”
Looking ahead, Pośpiech sees epigenetics as a cornerstone of a broader transformation in healthcare, one increasingly guided by data from genomics, microbiome science, and other “omics” fields.
“Research shows that our choices have a real impact on how quickly we age and how long we live in good health,” she said. “It's not just how long we live that matters, but also in what condition. And if we can influence our biological clock ourselves, it is worth a try.”
For further details on Dr. Pośpiech’s research, see her co-authored publications: : here, here and here.
Katarzyna Czechowicz (PAP)
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