Aging is arguably one of the most important unsolved problems of humanity, yet less than 0.1 percent of the federal research budget is spent on understanding the aging process.
Is Aging a Disease?
5/5 - (65 votes)
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
For decades, one of the most contested questions in gerontology has been whether or not aging itself should be considered a disease. But aging is natural, the counterargument goes; so, it can’t be a disease. Yes, but so is getting an infection, and we call that a disease. But aging is universal. Yes, but everybody gets the common cold too.
If you ask people whether they think a variety of conditions should be classified as diseases, you get an odd mix. For example, alcohol dependence is considered a disease, but nicotine dependence is not. Interestingly, the lay public is more likely to view aging as a disease than doctors, despite medicine’s historical penchant to medicalize everything. Who could forget drapetomania, the mental “illness” afflicting slaves who escaped plantations? Masturbation was considered a disease, complete with grizzly surgical solutions. Homosexuality was officially labeled a disease within my lifetime. Yet, medicine is hesitant to label aging an ailment.
What does it matter what we call it? A rose by any other name wilts just as fast. The hope is that disease classification would lead to greater resource allocation for aging research, just as the recent declaration of obesity as a disease did for obesity research. Aging is arguably one of the most important unsolved problems of humanity, yet less than 0.1 percent of the National Institutes of Health budget is spent on understanding the aging process. Even though aging may be the leading cause of disease and death, only four out of 14 general medicine textbooks have a chapter on the subject, and five of 14 didn’t appear to address aging at all. The science of aging appears to have been “relegated to a limbo reserved for impractical projects or eccentric whims not quite worthy of serious scientific … consideration.”
Why doesn’t Big Pharma invest in what would certainly be a blockbuster drug? Why spend the money on research when it can be spent marketing all the unproven anti-aging products they already sell? Many of the leading lines of dietary supplements are owned by drug companies. They’re the ones selling “cosmeceuticals” and “age reverse” skin creams. Drug maker Sanofi even partnered with Coca-Cola to come up with a “beauty drink.” They’re already making money hand over fist preying on the public’s gullibility and desperation for anti-aging products. Why waste valuable marketing money on proving anything actually works?
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Blagosklonny MV. Disease or not, aging is easily treatable. Aging (Albany NY). 2018;10(11):3067-3078.
- De Winter G. Aging as disease. Med Health Care Philos. 2015;18(2):237-243.
- Tikkinen KAO, Leinonen JS, Guyatt GH, Ebrahim S, Järvinen TLN. What is a disease? Perspectives of the public, health professionals and legislators. BMJ Open. 2012;2(6):e001632.
- Bulterijs S, Hull RS, Björk VCE, Roy AG. It is time to classify biological aging as a disease. Front Genet. 2015;6:205.
- Zhavoronkov A, Bhullar B. Classifying aging as a disease in the context of ICD-11. Front Genet. 2015;6:326.
- Fedintsev A, Moskalev A. Stochastic non-enzymatic modification of long-lived macromolecules - A missing hallmark of aging. Ageing Res Rev. 2020;62:101097.
- Farrelly C. Why aging research? The moral imperative to retard human aging. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2010;1197:1-8.
- Janac S, Clarke B, Gems D. Aging: natural or disease? A view from medical textbooks. In: Vaiserman AM, ed. Anti-aging Drugs: From Basic Research to Clinical Practice. Cambridge (UK): Royal Society of Chemistry; 2017.
- Gruman GJ. A history of ideas about the prolongation of life: the evolution of prolongevity hypotheses to 1800. Trans Am Philos Soc. 1966;56(9):1-102.
- Miller RA. Extending life: scientific prospects and political obstacles. Milbank Q. 2002;80(1):155-174.
- Davis B. The Link Between Big Pharma and the Supplement Industry. Elsevier. Jul 2017.
- Exuviance®. Johnson & Johnson.
- Spencer M. Coca-Cola, Sanofi in Beauty Venture. WSJ. Oct 2012.
- Martin KI, Glaser DA. Cosmeceuticals: the new medicine of beauty. Mo Med. 2011;108(1):60-63
Motion graphics by Avo Media
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
For decades, one of the most contested questions in gerontology has been whether or not aging itself should be considered a disease. But aging is natural, the counterargument goes; so, it can’t be a disease. Yes, but so is getting an infection, and we call that a disease. But aging is universal. Yes, but everybody gets the common cold too.
If you ask people whether they think a variety of conditions should be classified as diseases, you get an odd mix. For example, alcohol dependence is considered a disease, but nicotine dependence is not. Interestingly, the lay public is more likely to view aging as a disease than doctors, despite medicine’s historical penchant to medicalize everything. Who could forget drapetomania, the mental “illness” afflicting slaves who escaped plantations? Masturbation was considered a disease, complete with grizzly surgical solutions. Homosexuality was officially labeled a disease within my lifetime. Yet, medicine is hesitant to label aging an ailment.
What does it matter what we call it? A rose by any other name wilts just as fast. The hope is that disease classification would lead to greater resource allocation for aging research, just as the recent declaration of obesity as a disease did for obesity research. Aging is arguably one of the most important unsolved problems of humanity, yet less than 0.1 percent of the National Institutes of Health budget is spent on understanding the aging process. Even though aging may be the leading cause of disease and death, only four out of 14 general medicine textbooks have a chapter on the subject, and five of 14 didn’t appear to address aging at all. The science of aging appears to have been “relegated to a limbo reserved for impractical projects or eccentric whims not quite worthy of serious scientific … consideration.”
Why doesn’t Big Pharma invest in what would certainly be a blockbuster drug? Why spend the money on research when it can be spent marketing all the unproven anti-aging products they already sell? Many of the leading lines of dietary supplements are owned by drug companies. They’re the ones selling “cosmeceuticals” and “age reverse” skin creams. Drug maker Sanofi even partnered with Coca-Cola to come up with a “beauty drink.” They’re already making money hand over fist preying on the public’s gullibility and desperation for anti-aging products. Why waste valuable marketing money on proving anything actually works?
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Blagosklonny MV. Disease or not, aging is easily treatable. Aging (Albany NY). 2018;10(11):3067-3078.
- De Winter G. Aging as disease. Med Health Care Philos. 2015;18(2):237-243.
- Tikkinen KAO, Leinonen JS, Guyatt GH, Ebrahim S, Järvinen TLN. What is a disease? Perspectives of the public, health professionals and legislators. BMJ Open. 2012;2(6):e001632.
- Bulterijs S, Hull RS, Björk VCE, Roy AG. It is time to classify biological aging as a disease. Front Genet. 2015;6:205.
- Zhavoronkov A, Bhullar B. Classifying aging as a disease in the context of ICD-11. Front Genet. 2015;6:326.
- Fedintsev A, Moskalev A. Stochastic non-enzymatic modification of long-lived macromolecules - A missing hallmark of aging. Ageing Res Rev. 2020;62:101097.
- Farrelly C. Why aging research? The moral imperative to retard human aging. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2010;1197:1-8.
- Janac S, Clarke B, Gems D. Aging: natural or disease? A view from medical textbooks. In: Vaiserman AM, ed. Anti-aging Drugs: From Basic Research to Clinical Practice. Cambridge (UK): Royal Society of Chemistry; 2017.
- Gruman GJ. A history of ideas about the prolongation of life: the evolution of prolongevity hypotheses to 1800. Trans Am Philos Soc. 1966;56(9):1-102.
- Miller RA. Extending life: scientific prospects and political obstacles. Milbank Q. 2002;80(1):155-174.
- Davis B. The Link Between Big Pharma and the Supplement Industry. Elsevier. Jul 2017.
- Exuviance®. Johnson & Johnson.
- Spencer M. Coca-Cola, Sanofi in Beauty Venture. WSJ. Oct 2012.
- Martin KI, Glaser DA. Cosmeceuticals: the new medicine of beauty. Mo Med. 2011;108(1):60-63
Motion graphics by Avo Media
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Is Aging a Disease?
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Content URLDoctor's Note
My new book, How Not to Age, is all about aging, and you can get your copy now from your local public library or wherever books are sold. If you haven’t seen them yet, check out the book trailer and my new presentation. (As always, all proceeds I receive from all of my books are donated to charity.)
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