The hormonal changes that accompany ageing are not cosmetic concerns. They are central mechanisms of biological decline that drive changes in body composition, cardiovascular risk, bone density, cognitive function, mood, and sexual health. Understanding and addressing these changes is core to longevity medicine rather than peripheral to it.
The Primary Hormonal Changes After 50
- Testosterone in men: declines at approximately 1 to 2 percent per year from age 30, with acceleration often observed after 50. Low testosterone is associated with reduced muscle mass, increased visceral fat, insulin resistance, low mood, reduced libido, and increased cardiovascular risk
- Oestrogen in women: the acute decline at menopause produces hot flushes, sleep disruption, accelerated bone loss, shifts in body fat distribution to the visceral region, and increased cardiovascular risk
- Growth hormone: declines progressively from peak in the early 20s, reducing muscle protein synthesis, increasing fat deposition, and impairing recovery
- DHEA: adrenal hormone that serves as a precursor for sex hormones, declines significantly with age and is associated with reduced vitality and immune function
- Cortisol relative to anabolic hormones: as anabolic hormones decline, the cortisol-to-anabolic ratio becomes increasingly catabolic, favouring muscle breakdown and fat storage
Lifestyle Optimisation of Hormonal Health
Resistance training, adequate sleep, optimal protein intake, reduction of chronic stress, and healthy body composition all support the retention of anabolic hormonal output and the mitigation of cortisol dominance. These are not minor contributions. They are clinically significant interventions that, when combined, produce hormonal environments meaningfully more favourable than those of matched sedentary adults of the same age.