The age you started puberty & the age you exit it can tell you a lot about genetic control of lifespan. Puberty involves the acquisition of multiple what are called secondary sex characteristics. Of course, lifestyle factors matter too! Puberty onset and rate is informative too.

THE AGE OF ONSET & THE RATE OF PROGRESSION THROUGH PUBERTY PREDICTS LIFESPAN • @kph3k on the Huberman Lab podcast out now Firstly, lifestyle factors have a huge impact on your lifespan. So you do have a significant level of control over how long you will live, no matter what age you began and ended puberty. Sleep, exercise, nutrition, social connection, sun-dark exposure: these really matter. And of course, avoiding all the bad stuff. That said, when we talk about genetic factors impacting lifespan, what are we really talking about? Setting genes that predispose to certain diseases aside, what we’re talking about is the rate of aging. The rate which we age is not linear! Perhaps the single greatest acceleration in our rate of aging is puberty. For some people puberty starts and ends in a short time. For some people, the acquisition of mature characteristics takes much longer. Their puberty is protracted. This is important conceptually and practically. Conceptually because we need to start thinking of our entire life as one big developmental arc. All too often we think about childhood, teen years, young adulthood, and then just “adulthood” where we grow old …but there are distinct phases such as puberty, early 40s and 60s where aging is accelerated. Hormones are part of it but just part of it. Think about growth hormone. Some people will take growth hormone as adult and it will improve vitality but it will also make you age more quickly so it’s a trade-off between what that vitality buys you and time. This is a new and important way of thinking about longevity, hormones, and figuring out what you need to do given your genetics to maximize your lifespan while also living a fulfilled life as you define it.