Evidence for senescent convergence during human aging.

ABSTRACT

'Senescent convergence' is the observation that, with advancing age, multiple measurements of organ/body size, chemistry or function, reveal values for the higher percentiles which decrease faster than those of the lower percentiles. That is, values of the extremes appear to be converging with advanced age. In some cases, the equations for describing this can be modified to include a term that accounts for the percentile of the observation. Examples were given of calculating the age at which values of 2 different percentiles, of the property being measured, become identical ('age at convergence'). Exceptions to senescent convergence, such as related to diseases like osteoporotic vertebral fractures, were mentioned. It was noted that the curves of senescent convergence resembled the inverse of those of postnatal growth.