Health. Why are more and more young people getting cancer?

Princess Kate Middleton, influencer Caroline Recevere, journalist Clementine That’s right… So many young personalities who have come forward about their cancer.

The list is long. Some researchers do not hesitate to speak of an “epidemic” when describing the occurrence of the disease in people under 50 years of age.

So, according to work published at the end of 2023 in the journal British Medical JournalBetween 1990 and 2019, the number of cancer cases diagnosed in people aged 14–49 years increased by 79%, from 1.82 million to 3.26 million.

” Genetic factors may play a role the researchers then explained. “But a diet high in red meat and salt and low in fruit and milk, drinking alcohol and smoking are the main risk factors for the most common cancers in people under 50.. »

Premature aging

New work presented at annual meetingAmerican Association for Cancer Researchh takes this data and completes it.

For scientists at Washington University in St. Louis (USA): “ Increasing biological age, indicating accelerated aging, may contribute to the development of early cancers. “.

Our biological age refers to the actual state of our body. It is influenced by various factors such as diet, physical activity, mental health, etc.

This is in contrast to our chronological age, which measures our lifespan. ” Increasing evidence suggests that younger generations may age faster than expected, likely due to earlier exposure to various risk factors and environmental influences. “say the authors.

Who, to test their hypothesis, calculated the biological age of 150,000 people using nine biomarkers present in the blood (albumin, creatinine, C-reactive protein, etc.).

They observed that people born in 1965 or later were 17% more likely to experience accelerated aging than those born between 1950 and 1954.

Accelerated aging has been associated with an increased risk of cancer. The strongest associations were observed for lung, stomach, colon and cervical cancers.

” If our results are confirmed, interventions aimed at slowing biological aging may provide a new way to prevent cancer. “” the researchers conclude.

Source : American Association for Cancer Research