We must differentiate between the chronological agewhich is measured in years since our birth, and the biological agewhich marks the health of our body. We do not all age at the same rate, some of us have a biological age greater than our chronological age and vice versa. The biological begins to separate from the chronological as we live, due to factors such as lifestyle, diet or quality of sleep.
But biological age is also influenced by genetic heritage. Scientific research from the University of California, San Francisco, has discovered a link between the level of education and the cellular aging of their descendants.
The study was published in the journal Social Science and Medicine and explains that Grandparents’ education may influence biological age. They discovered that the College-educated grandchildren tend to have more favorable biological agesThis is not only due to economic reasons, but also epigenetic changes.
THE epigenetics analyzes how environmental factors can modify gene expression without altering the DNA sequence, and how these modifications can be transmitted between generations.
Children whose grandparents had a college education age more slowly
To reach this conclusion, the scientists analyzed DNA methylation in 624 middle-aged women and 241 of their children, aged 2 to 17. methylationinvolves adding methyl groups to certain regions of DNA, which can influence how genes are expressed over generations.
The study found that Children whose grandparents completed college showed slower biological agingand that these differences would become more and more palpable as they became more pronounced.
Agus Surachman, co-author of the study, explains that “people are often blamed for their poor health. The reality is that health is much more complex than that.”. “Some factors are simply beyond our control, such as genetics and the inherited epigenetics we are born with.” He also notes: “I hope this helps us be more understanding and compassionate towards ourselves and our communities.”
