Research

Hormonal

Reduced GH/IGF-1 signaling protects against age-related diseases such as diabetes and cancer in both mice and humans with GH deficiency/resistance.

Humans with genetic GH deficiency are protected from diabetes and cancer, suggesting that lower GH/IGF-1 signaling might be protective. However, this comes with trade-offs like small stature. For the general population, this does not support GH supplementation for disease prevention, as excess GH may be harmful.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
GH resistance or deficiency provides protection from major age-related diseases, including diabetes and cancer, in both species.
Andrzej Bartke et al. · Physiological Reviews · 2013

Why this rating

Strong evidence in mice; humans with GH deficiency are protected from diseases, though longevity data is lacking.

Source

Somatotropic Signaling: Trade-Offs Between Growth, Reproductive Development, and Longevity

Andrzej Bartke et al. · Physiological Reviews · 2013

DOI 10.1152/physrev.00006.2012

narrative_reviewCited 285×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →