Changes of Glycans With Age in Different Parts of the World

People are different and glycans are one of the main molecular drivers of these differences. Large collaborative study on over 10,000 individuals from 27 different populations revealed extensive changes of the IgG glycome composition with age. In young people, glycans suppressing inflammation were dominant, while older people had more inflammation-promoting glycans. This is consistent with the inflammaging theory of ageing and provides additional evidence that glycans are not only biomarkers but also active drivers of ageing at the molecular level.

Interestingly, age-related changes in glycans were strongly affected by living conditions with people from less developed countries ageing faster than people from developed countries. IgG glycome composition strongly correlated with the expected lifespan, which is another piece of evidence that GlycanAge is a valuable tool to quantify current general health status.

The full study is available here.