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Sex Differences in Human Biological Aging

¹ Department of Sport Sciences, Kyoto Iken College of Medicine and Health, Kyoto, Japan.
² Department of Internal Medicine, Kyoto Second Red Cross Hospital, Japan.

Address correspondence to Eitaro Nakamura, PhD, Department of Sport Sciences, Kyoto Iken College of Medicine and Health, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8203, Japan. E-mail: naka-e{at}kyoto-iken.ac.jp

This study aims to clarify sex differences in human biological aging and to explore the gender gaps in health and longevity. Eighty-six men and 93 women who received a 2-day routine health checkup for 6–7 years beginning in 1992 at the Kyoto Red Cross Hospital were selected. Five candidate biomarkers of aging (forced expiratory volume in 1.0 second per square of height [FEV₁/Ht²], systolic blood pressure [SBP], red blood cells [RBC], albumin [ALBU], and blood urea nitrogen [BUN]) were selected from 29 physiological variables. Individual biological ages (BAS) were estimated from these five biomarkers by a principal component model. From the investigation of the longitudinal changes of individual BAS, it was suggested that (i) beyond 65 years, the rate of aging showed a rapid increase, and (ii) women had relatively lower functional capabilities compared with men, but the rate of aging was slower than that of men, suggesting that these differences might present both disadvantages and advantages for women with regard to health and longevity.

Key Words: Biological age • Sex difference • Adult