Aging has long been explained in different ways. One traditional view is that it results from the gradual accumulation of molecular damage over time. Another perspective, based on evolutionary theory, suggests that natural selection strongly protects health during youth and reproductive years but becomes less effective later in life. As a result, biological effects that appear in older age may persist because they have little impact on reproduction.

Over the past two decades, researchers have also explored the idea that biological programs beneficial early in life may continue operating later in ways that become harmful. Processes that once supported growth, repair, and reproduction may, with time, contribute to chronic disease.

A recent review article, titled “Aging as a multifactorial disorder with two stages,” published in Aging-US by researchers at University College London and Queen Mary University of London, brings these different perspectives together into a unified model, to propose a broader explanation of how aging-related diseases develop. The review appears in a special issue honoring the late scientist Misha Blagosklonny, whose theoretical work on programmatic aging significantly influenced the field.

Full blog - https://aging-us.org/2026/02/how-aging-leads-to-chronic-disease-a-two-stage-model/

Paper DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.206339

Corresponding author - David Gems - [email protected]

Abstract video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4TSI4Ot3yM

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Keywords - aging, C. elegans, disease, hyperfunction, multifactorial model

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