Lipid Absorption and the Aging Process

Abstract

The aging process is significantly influenced by lipid metabolism, affecting various aspects of physiological functions. Aging leads to a reduction in digestive physiology, alters the rate of lipid absorption, as well as impacts the risk of developing metabolic syndrome and other neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between lipid absorption and aging, providing evidence that the existence and contribution of lipid absorption pathways play a role in the aging process. A literature search was carried out to obtain articles from electronic databases namely Scopus and Pubmed. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were used to select relevant articles. After title and abstract screening, 170 possibly relevant articles were filtered for full text, and only 58 were eventually reviewed. The results showed that the rate of lipid absorption decreased with age but the cholesterol level significantly increased. Several endogenous factors influence the level of TC, LDL-C, HDL, and TG, namely the role of adipocytes or fat cells in cholesterol synthesis, insulin resistance, adipokine secretion, and genetics. It was also found that lipid levels in the elderly were higher than in adults. In enterocyte cells, lipid transporters affected the rate of absorption including FATPs, FABP, FAT/CD36, NPC1L1, and ABCA1. The chylomicrons as lipid transporters in adults and the elderly had the same basic structure. However, the amount and sizes transported differed. High lipid levels in the elderly cause aging-related diseases such as chronic disease, coronary artery disease, coronary atherosclerosis, carotid artery stenosis, and cardiovascular issues.