• Question: Why do very young and very old people get ill quicker than others? At what point does your health decline?

    Asked by Zealousy to Josh on 25 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Josh Meyers

      Josh Meyers answered on 25 Jun 2015:

      Both when you’re young and old. You’re immune system is either developing, or starting to deteriorate. Therefore you get ill more often.

      Also:
      Young people have not been exposed to antigens yet (like chicken pox). But after they have, they develop antibodies and are then primed to defend themselves in later life.
      And older people have more time (and therefore higher chances) of their cell division going wrong, this can cause all kinds of diseases (such as prostate cancer)

      However, there are some diseases that are more complicated than this. Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a blood cancer that occurs in young and old people. Why this happens is a very active area of research!

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