Age impacts risk of cancer and diabetes more than genetics, study finds

Age can impact health risks more than genetics after a certain age, a new study has found.

The research, published in journal Nature Communications, says that for people over 50 years old, genetics and DNA differences have less of an impact on whether you will be diagnosed with age-related diseases like cancer, dementia or diabetes.

Researchers added that genetics play more of a role in health risks before you turn 50.

“Almost all human common diseases are diseases of ageing: Alzheimer’s, cancers, heart disease, diabetes. All of these diseases increase their prevalence with age,” University of California, Berkeley assistant professor Peter Sudmant told Berkeley News.

“What our study is showing is that, well, actually, as you get older, genes kind of matter less for your gene expression. And so, perhaps, we need to be mindful of that when we’re trying to identify the causes of these diseases of ageing.”

The results came after researchers looked at the impact of genetics and ageing on 27 different human tissues collected from 1,000 participants.

Researchers then determined that the impact of ageing on these tissues varies 20 times more than genetics.

They explained that human tissues are constantly regenerating, but they become more susceptible to cancerous mutations as people get older.

This means that even identical twins who share the same genetic makeup see their gene expression profiles diverge as they age, which means they can age differently.

“We’re all ageing in different ways,” Sudmant added. “While young individuals are closer together in terms of gene expression patterns, older individuals are further apart. It’s like a drift through time as gene expression patterns become more and more erratic.”