Women are born with unique biological advantages favoring longevity. I have coined this phenomenon the “Female Longevity Factor.” However, offsetting these advantages are potential risks related to lifestyle and environmental exposures.
By proactively addressing the so-called epigenetic effects, a proactive approach to aging can be achieved to live longer younger.
The longevity gender gap refers to the extra seven years that women live longer than men. The added years of life too often fail to translate into extended health span as women often experience disease and disability in their last decade of life. Healthcare gender inequities exist throughout the biomedical system from research to diagnosis to treatment of disease. Too often women are mis- or under-diagnosed, untreated, or mis-treated, and the unique risk factors that predict disease in women are too often unrecognized. For example, cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in women.1
But women are often misdiagnosed when presenting with a heart attack and are too often denied lifesaving interventions.2 Hormonal milestones pose unique risks to women and experiencing hypertension during pregnancy, a menopause that occured early or was particularly symptomatic with severe hot flashes and night sweats are all unique cardiac risk factors for women.
Aging is not hardwired in our DNA. While scientists have discovered several longevity genes, the vast majority of our aging is under our control and influenced by our life choices. Twelve hallmarks of aging have been identified. These are both drivers and markers of biological age and affect women differently than men. The hallmarks include genomic and epigenomic changes, telomere loss, mitochondrial exhaustion, inflammation, and nutritional factors.3
Estrogen has geroprotective effects throughout a woman’s lifetime and exerts influence on nearly all hallmarks of aging.
Studies of “superagers,” those that live into their ninth decade and beyond with physical and cognitive vitality, have revealed more than 200 longevity genes.4
Women have an innate genomic advantage with an extra X chromosome. There are more than 1,000 genes encoded on the X chromosome and these X-linked traits include brain, bone, neurological, and immune function.
Men, conversely, lack a second X chromosome and instead have a Y chromosome, with fewer than 80 genes, mostly coding for secondary male characteristics.
The second X chromosome serves as a genomic advantage for women with an age-dependent contribution to longevity.
Within each of our chromosomes lies an additional source of a female longevity advantage. Telomeres are the non-coding protective caps of our chromosomes that shorten over our lifetime.
Telomere loss, like damaged ends to our shoestrings, can be considered a biological limit to our lifespan. Telomere length is extended under the influence of an enzyme: telomerase, which repairs shortened or damaged telomeres. Short telomeres predict disease, aging, and mortality.
Women are born with longer telomeres than men5, but these longer telomeres are more susceptible to the harmful effects of stress and oxidative damage. Estrogen is telomere protective as it upregulates telomerase. At menopause, with the decline of estrogen, women experience a rapid shortening of telomeres and age acceleration ensues.
Genetics predicts a small fraction of our aging and most of aging is influenced by gene-environment interactions, referred to as epigenetics. Epigenetic factors arise from our lifestyle, life choices, environment, and exposures. Poor nutrition, environmental toxins, and psychological stress are important epigenetic factors.
Women are more susceptible than men to epigenetic aging and with the epigenomic alteration to the germ line, this risk can be passed on to future generations. Epigenetic imprinting through maternal exposure is transgenerational. For instance, a grandmaternal diet that is low in protein can lead to adverse outcomes in her granddaughter.
Epigenetics confirms that our health and aging are very much under our control and with the impacts being passed on to future generations, women are truly a gateway to the health and longevity of the family tree.
Hormones are vital life signals secreted by glandular tissues like the thyroid, adrenals, and ovaries and produce targeted effects at distant sites throughout the body. Estrogen is critical throughout a woman’s lifespan and binds both cell membrane and nuclear receptors affecting both cellular activity and genomic expression.
Estrogen is geroprotective as it positively impacts the hallmarks of aging. The menopausal loss of estrogen triggers accelerated aging in women. In fact, during the years that saddle a woman’s final menstrual cycle, she will age three-fold faster than any other time in her life.
Aging is not inevitable. Your DNA is not your destiny. Although your genes may load the gun, a poor diet and unhealthy lifestyle pulls the trigger. Does a longevity diet exist?
Studies of the longest living populations in the world, referred to as the “Blue Zones,” reveal that the secrets to living longer can be found in the unique diet and lifestyles of these diverse populations.
The Okinawa islands off the mainland of Japan boast the longest living women in the world. These women eat a plant-based diet, nearly void of refined sugars and processed foods, and remain active into their final years. The Okinawan diet differs from that of mainland Japan.
Instead of a rice-based diet, they consume large amounts of Japanese sweet potato, which contains high yields of hyaluronic acid, a sort of elixir of youth.6
Hyaluronic acid is used to treat aging skin, eyes, joints, and vaginal dryness in women after menopause. It’s possible these women may have discovered a diet for longevity.
Skin is our largest organ7 and receives on average 7% of our blood flow. Looking young is a sign of slow biological aging and the beauty span can predict a longer health span. There are more options than ever to look and feel our best with little to no downtime, pain, or risk.
We are each born with a unique set of risks and advantages when it comes to health and aging. The key is to understand individual needs and address the hallmarks through a personalized health lens that evolves over time.
Aging well is a choice, but there is not a one-size-fits-all approach. With an inside-out approach to address individual needs, preferences, and goals for a proactive plan for health, aging can be formed. Aging while achieving optimal health and vitality is the key to living longer younger.
1. CDC. Leading causes of death – females – all races and origins – United States, 2018. CDC.gov. Accessed March 3, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/women/lcod/2018/all-races-origins/index.htm.
2. Nisha Jhalani. Heart Disease in Women is Not Like Heart Disease in Men. ColumbiaDoctors.org. February 28, 2022. June 14, 2024. https://www.columbiadoctors.org/news/heart-disease-women-not-heart-disease-men#:~:text=Women%20are%20more%20likely%20to,as%20gastrointestinal%20problems%20or%20anxiety.
3. López-Otín C, Blasco MA, Partridge L, Serrano M, Kroemer G. Hallmarks of aging: An expanding universe. Cell. 2023;186(2):243-278. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2022.11.001
4. Islam MA, Sehar U, Sultana OF, et al. SuperAgers and centenarians, dynamics of healthy ageing with cognitive resilience. Mech Ageing Dev. 2024;219:111936. doi:10.1016/j.mad.2024.111936
5. Abraham Aviv et al. The Longevity Gender Gap: Are Telomeres the Explanation?.Sci. Aging Knowl. Environ.2005,pe16-pe16(2005).DOI:10.1126/sageke.2005.23.pe16
6. Watch Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones. Netflix Official Site. www.netflix.com. https://www.netflix.com/title/81214929
7. Franco AC, Aveleira C, Cavadas C. Skin senescence: mechanisms and impact on whole-body aging. Trends Mol Med. 2022;28(2):97-109. doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2021.12.003
Women are born with unique biological advantages favoring longevity. I have coined this phenomenon the “Female Longevity Factor.” However, offsetting these advantages are potential risks related to lifestyle and environmental exposures. By proactively addressing the so-called epigenetic effects, a proactive approach to aging can be achieved to live longer younger.