Sex differences in aging get their own research agenda
Men and women age differently. Yet that distinction is rarely studied systematically. A workshop hosted by the US National Institute on Aging is now working to change that.
In December 2025, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) brought together researchers, clinicians, and policymakers to examine the mechanistic bases of sex differences in health across tissues and the lifespan. The goal was not only to document that men and women age differently, but to understand how and why. The workshop report was published in Nature Aging.
Sex differences in aging operate at multiple levels simultaneously: hormones, immune responses, tissue architecture, and patterns of gene activation all differ between biological sexes. Women live longer on average, but spend more years with chronic disease. Men face higher risk of early death from cardiovascular disease. These patterns are clinically recognized, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood.
New technologies open new doors
The workshop discussed emerging technologies that could accelerate sex-differences research. Single-cell analysis now allows researchers to observe how individual cells within organs respond differently depending on biological sex. Methods for studying sex differences in aging clocks, molecular measures of biological age, were also discussed.
Participants included staff from the Veterans Health Administration, reflecting a clinical and military angle: sex differences in health outcomes have become particularly visible in veteran populations as more women serve.
Why this matters for longevity
A longevity approach that does not distinguish between men and women may be missing half the picture. If prevention and treatment strategies are built on data drawn predominantly from men, they are likely to work less well for women. The workshop highlights this as an active blind spot. The recommendations are preliminary in nature; translating them into concrete interventions will require further research.
Search terms to explore further: sex-based aging differences, single-cell sex differences, hormonal modulation aging