Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Pages: 522-550

Journal: BioFactors

Volume number: 47

Issue number: 4

ISSN: 0951-6433

eISSN: 1872-8081

Open access status: Green

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/biof.1728

Publisher: Wiley

Abstract: 

The present demographic changes toward an aging society caused a rise in the number of senior citizens and the incidence and burden of age-related diseases (such as cardiovascular diseases [CVD], cancer, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease [NAFLD], diabetes mellitus, and dementia), of which nearly half is attributable to the population >= 60 years of age. Deficiencies in individual nutrients have been associated with increased risks for age-related diseases and high intakes and/or blood concentrations with risk reduction. Nutrition in general and the dietary intake of essential and nonessential biofactors is a major determinant of human health, the risk to develop age-related diseases, and ultimately of mortality in the older population. These biofactors can be a cost-effective strategy to prevent or, in some cases, even treat age-related diseases. Examples reviewed herein include omega-3 fatty acids and dietary fiber for the prevention of CVD, alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) for the treatment of biopsy-proven nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, vitamin D for the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases, thiamine and alpha-lipoic acid for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy, and the role of folate in cancer epigenetics. This list of potentially helpful biofactors in the prevention and treatment of age-related diseases, however, is not exhaustive and many more examples exist. Furthermore, since there is currently no generally accepted definition of the term biofactors, we here propose a definition that, when adopted by scientists, will enable a harmonization and consistent use of the term in the scientific literature.

Harvard Citation style: Frank, J., Kisters, K., Stirban, O., Obeid, R., Lorkowski, S., Wallert, M., et al. (2021) The role of biofactors in the prevention and treatment of age-related diseases, BioFactors, 47(4), pp. 522-550. https://doi.org/10.1002/biof.1728

APA Citation style: Frank, J., Kisters, K., Stirban, O., Obeid, R., Lorkowski, S., Wallert, M., Egert, S., Podszun, M., Eckert, G., Pettersen, J., Venturelli, S., Classen, H., & Golombek, J. (2021). The role of biofactors in the prevention and treatment of age-related diseases. BioFactors. 47(4), 522-550. https://doi.org/10.1002/biof.1728