With the world’s population ageing rapidly and endocrine-related comorbidities a major impediment to good health in old age, understanding how the endocrine system ages is paramount to realising the dream of healthy ageing. Written by leading experts in the field, this four-paper Series in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology focuses on recent developments and key issues in endocrine-system ageing and opportunities for therapeutic intervention.
The first paper provides a broad overview of how age affects the different hypothalamic–pituitary axes governing hormone secretion and age-related changes in calcium and bone metabolism and glucose homoeostasis. The second paper reviews findings from the Testosterone Trials, highlighting benefits as well as possible cardiovascular concerns. The third paper on thyroid dysfunction—one of the most common disorders in older people—focuses on the physiological changes in thyroid function that occur with ageing and treatment considerations for clinical and subclinical thyroid dysfunction.
The final paper discusses the role of the endocrine system in frailty and key areas for future translational research. Accompanying the Series, an Editorial examines the regulatory and therapeutic implications of the recent decision by the WHO to classify ageing as a disease, and authors from each Series paper discuss in a Podcast the key research issues in endocrine-system ageing and the implications for achieving the goal of healthy ageing.
Primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) is one of the most common endocrine diseases in the elderly and the chance of developing pHPT increases with age. Elderly patients with pHPT are often not referred for surgery because of their associated comorbidities that may increase surgical risk.
Hormones are chemical substances that affect the activity of another part of the body (target site)... read more generally declines with age because hormone receptors become less sensitive. . ... Decreased levels of growth hormone may lead to decreased muscle mass and strength.
A well-known example of the aging process affecting an endocrine gland is menopause and the decline of ovarian function. With increasing age, the ovaries decrease in both size and weight and become progressively less sensitive to gonadotropins.
In humans, aging is characterized by an increase in adrenal glucocorticoid secretion and a decrease in adrenal androgen synthesis. As aging occurs, several changes in hormone levels taking place. The cortisol secretion pattern by zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex undergoes several modifications with age.
The most important changes in cognition with normal aging are declines in performance on cognitive tasks that require one to quickly process or transform information to make a decision, including measures of speed of processing, working memory, and executive cognitive function.
For instance, if you're pregnant or looking to start a family and have a thyroid disorder, you may need to see an endocrinologist. Other reasons to get follow-up care from an endocrinologist can include developing a goiter or enlarged thyroid gland, a thyroid nodule, or symptoms of a pituitary gland disorder.
The most common consequence of aging-related hormonal changes is menopause. Around age 50, women's ovaries begin producing decreasing amounts of estrogen and progesterone; the pituitary gland tries to compensate by producing more follicle stimulating hormone (FSH).
Eggs, for example, are a wonderful source of healthy cholesterol. Just don't forget to eat both the white and the yoke to get the right balance of nutrients. An important vitamin that may help to keep our hormones in balance after 60 is B6. This is found in walnuts, lean red meat, poultry, spinach and beans.
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