An international group of researchers claims that we are thinking about longevity at the wrong stage of life. The science of longevity is a crucial topic for many researchers: how can we extend our lives while simultaneously avoiding diseases and age-related changes.
This topic can be approached from a wide variety of angles, whether it be the genetics we are born with or the food we consume throughout our lives. Now, an international team of researchers suggests starting studies and interventions aimed at extending life as early as possible – even before birth.
In an article published in the journal Nature Health, researchers justify the need to create a “lifelong health and longevity research consortium” called PROSPER. This stands for Pregestational and Pediatric Research for Optimal Healthspan and Early-life Resilience.
The main argument for establishing the PROSPER consortium is that too many longevity studies focus on the final years of life, when much of the harm and wear and tear on the body may already have occurred.
“Healthy longevity medicine, which seeks to translate ideas from biogerontology into clinical practice, is primarily focused on adult populations, and interventions are applied only after decades of accumulation of molecular and cellular changes associated with aging,” the researchers write. “This approach overlooks a critically important opportunity.”
As noted in the new article, although numerous studies have already examined childhood factors that influence lifespan, there is still a lack of a holistic approach to evaluating various aspects of aging throughout the entire lifespan.
For example, the researchers argue that the same aging markers used in adults cannot be applied to children: at a younger age, they may signify something different. This is one area of discrepancy that the consortium could address.
“A key point in these efforts is the recognition that biological age in early childhood reflects developmental synchrony and resilience, rather than cumulative damage, which requires the creation of age-specific models, biomarkers, and interpretive frameworks,” the researchers write.
The researchers proposing the PROSPER program also mention the “peak activity period” – that stage of life when we are at the height of our abilities – and it occurs for all of us at some point (though you might not notice it over time).
This is another way of conceptualizing aging: it is not only about how many years we live or how many of those years are free from disease, but also about how much of our lives we spend in what can be considered our prime.
“This implies the systematic integration of multi-omics data, clinical phenotypes, and functional indicators across different developmental stages, which will allow the construction of longitudinal biological trajectories that can serve as a basis for risk prediction and intervention,” the researchers write. “In parallel, the consortium aims to develop age-appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic approaches that can be integrated into routine obstetric and pediatric care, thereby shifting the focus from reactive disease management to proactive optimization of developmental trajectories.”
All of this is currently at a very early stage, and the proposal does not yet contain detailed information. Essentially, PROSPER would be established to work on everything from clinical guidelines to medical research, integrating data in a way that has not been done before.
All the researchers behind this idea are longevity experts, and if this proposal is indeed embraced by the broader scientific community, it should lead to new discoveries in the field of longevity – not only for older people, but for individuals of all ages.
“Establishing a consortium dedicated to lifelong health and longevity should improve research and clinical practice,” the researchers write. “By bringing together disciplines that have traditionally worked in isolation, it becomes possible to study the entire spectrum of biological aging, from its earliest drivers to its clinical manifestations.”
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