Does hyperbaric oxygen therapy help against ageing?
HBOT shows interesting signals in small, early studies regarding telomere length and cerebral blood flow, but the evidence is too thin and too susceptible to bias to recommend it as an anti-ageing treatment. Wait for larger, independent trials before taking on the considerable costs.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) means breathing in a sealed chamber under increased air pressure, so that your body absorbs more oxygen than usual. In mainstream medicine it has been used for years for wound healing and diving accidents. As an anti-ageing treatment, the research is still in its early stages.
The most-cited study followed 35 healthy people aged 64 and older who underwent 60 HBOT sessions1. Afterwards, their telomeres, the protective caps at the ends of your chromosomes that shorten with ageing, were more than 20% longer in multiple types of blood cells. In certain immune cells that increase reached as high as 37.6%. At the same time, the number of senescent immune cells decreased by 11 to 37%. Impressive, but there was no control group. In addition, several authors had financial ties to a commercial HBOT company, so treat the interpretation with caution.
For brain health, early signals exist, but they are preliminary. In a study in mice with Alzheimer-like abnormalities, HBOT improved cerebral blood flow and reduced the accumulation of amyloid, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. A small group of older people with memory loss subsequently also showed better cognitive scores2. The groups were small, however, and here too several authors held shares in an HBOT company. These are therefore early signals, not proof that HBOT treats Alzheimer's disease or memory loss.
In the area of skin ageing, a 2024 review looked at 17 studies involving a total of 766 participants3. These showed improved collagen density, more elastin fibres and lower inflammation markers after HBOT. However, all the studies involved had a high risk of bias, meaning the results may appear more favourable than they actually are.
A broader 2024 systematic review on HBOT as an anti-ageing intervention found only 15 usable studies and concluded that the evidence is too thin to justify the costs4. Large, independent and well-controlled trials are entirely absent. Biologically, HBOT is interesting, but it cannot yet be relied upon as an anti-ageing treatment.
All claims are based on small studies in humans without a control group, studies in mice, or systematic reviews that themselves conclude the evidence is insufficient. Several studies disclose financial interests of authors in commercial HBOT providers. The total number of participants in human studies is limited: 35 in the telomere study, 766 spread across 17 skin studies, and small numbers in the cognition study.