People with more moles may age slowly

People with a large numbers of moles on their skin may age slowly, suggests a new study.
Scientists from King’s College, London, compared key ageing DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) with the number of moles a person had in a study of 1,800 twins.

A mole is a spot on the skin that is usually round or oval in shape and may range in colour from pink, brown, red or black.

The experts found that the more moles a person had, the more likely their DNA was to have the properties to fight off ageing, reported the online edition of BBC News.

In the study, which appeared in the latest issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention journal, researchers found that those with more than 100 moles had longer telomeres than those with fewer than 25. Telemores are the part of certain chromosomes linked to ageing. The difference between the two mole groups was equivalent to six to seven years of ageing.

“The results of this study are very exciting as they show, for the first time, that moley people … may have the benefit of a reduced rate of ageing,” said lead researcher Veronique Bataille.

“This could imply susceptibility to fewer age-related diseases such as heart disease or osteoporosis - a disease that makes bones prone to fracture, for example. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.”