You might think that your genes are relatively stable, and that your chromosomes will remain roughly the same over the course of your life. For many people, this is true, but it is not universal. As Gina Kolata highlighted in The New York Times back in 2022, “many men lose their Y chromosomes as they age.” Now, scientists are starting to understand the potential serious health implications of that loss.
The Times article focused on the results of a study published in the journal Science in July 2022, which connected the shrinking of the Y chromosomes of mice with an uptick in heart disease. Recently, even more evidence has come to light on how Y chromosome depletion can impact one’s health.
That is the subject of a recent article at The Conversation by La Trobe University genetics professor Jenny Graves. Besides heart disease, Graves cites a number of studies that connect loss of the Y chromosome to outcomes as widespread as Alzheimer’s disease, kidney disease and death from COVID-19. As Graves notes, there is still more research to be done to determine if these are direct results of the chromosomal loss or if something else is responsible for both.
What Can the World’s Oldest People Tell Us About Aging Well?
Lessons from the life and genes of a 117-year-oldIn her article, Graves covers a lot of ground above and beyond the risks of losing the Y chromosome. She discusses the factors that can contribute to this decrease (smoking can play a part) as well as the ways that the loss can become more widespread with age. If you have a Y chromosome, it’s yet another thing to be mindful of as you get older.
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