New research suggests that a blood test measuring the biological age of organs could help predict the likelihood of developing dementia and heart disease in the future.
A study published in The Lancet Digital Health reveals that this groundbreaking blood test can assess the risk of these conditions by evaluating the biological age of various organs.
Unlike chronological age, which simply counts the years since birth, biological age measures how much cells and organs have actually aged. This means that genetic factors and lifestyle choices can create discrepancies between biological and chronological age. Even within the same person, certain organs may age faster than others.
While chronological age progresses steadily, biological age can fluctuate, advancing more rapidly or slowly depending on genetic and environmental influences.
A negative chronological and biological age gap indicates better health or slower aging. In contrast, a positive gap suggests accelerated aging, faster than what would typically be expected for one’s age.
Researchers from University College London suggest that this blood test could predict disease risk years, or even decades, before symptoms appear.
The research team analyzed data from 6,235 adults who participated in the Whitehall II Study, reviewing their medical records at the time of enrollment and 20 years later.
Participants aged 45 to 69 underwent blood tests between April 1997 and January 1999. Researchers performed a detailed proteomic analysis on these blood samples.
The team analyzed the protein data and calculated the age gap for nine key organs and systems: arteries, brain, heart, immune system, intestines, kidneys, liver, lungs, and pancreas.
The study also explored 45 age-related diseases to determine how these organ age gaps influenced the risk of developing these diseases.
The results showed varying rates of biological aging across different organs within individuals. The risk for 30 out of the 45 age-related diseases studied increased when specific organs aged more rapidly.
Larger organ age gaps were strongly correlated with higher future disease risks. For instance, a significant age gap in the heart was linked to a higher risk of developing heart disease.
The team also discovered that the rapid aging of specific organs increases the risk of multi-organ diseases. When two or more organs aged quickly, even diseases that affect a single organ showed higher risks.
Additionally, accelerated organ aging was associated with higher mortality rates. Notably, the immune system’s age gap was strongly tied to an increased risk of dementia, while rapid aging of the intestines was the strongest predictor for Parkinson’s disease.
These findings are in line with previous research that has linked elevated blood inflammation markers to a higher risk of dementia and compromised gut barriers to Parkinson’s disease.
The researchers stressed the need for additional studies better to understand the link between inflammatory proteins and dementia risk, highlighting the connection between inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases.
Experts find it fascinating that the aging of one organ can influence the risk of disease and the aging of other organs. They speculate that shared mechanisms—such as immunity, genetics, blood vessels, and inflammation—could cause organs to affect each other’s function.
These findings could help identify individual risk levels and improve the management of high-risk groups by uncovering the connection between organ age (as measured by blood protein levels) and the future risk of various diseases.
Early detection of organ aging could lead to targeted treatments such as lifestyle changes, medication, or regenerative therapies before diseases progress. This could revolutionize preventive healthcare, especially in the growing field of longevity.
However, this observational study does not prove a causal relationship between organ age and disease. Additionally, the health status of the study participants was generally better than that of the general population, which led to lower disease prevalence, making it harder to establish clear connections.
