Researchers at a leading medical institution reveal a blood test that predicts which organs may fail first
A team from a renowned university medical center has introduced a method to forecast organ aging by analyzing a blood sample. The study describes how a blood-based test can gauge the pace at which organs age, offering a window into imminent functional decline across the body.
In the analysis, researchers examined nearly 5,000 proteins circulating in the blood of about 1,400 participants ranging from 20 to 90 years old. A machine learning model sifted through this data and highlighted 858 proteins that consistently predicted the biological age of multiple organs, including the heart, fat tissue, lungs, immune system, kidneys, liver, muscles, pancreas, brain, blood vessels, and the gut. This approach aims to map organ-specific aging patterns rather than treating aging as a uniform process.
A second investigation with 5,678 volunteers confirmed that different organs age at distinct rates. When one organ shows rapid aging, the risk of serious illness or death rises, underscoring the importance of monitoring organ health individually rather than relying on a single overall health score.
Among relatively healthy adults aged 50 and older, about one in five exhibits at least one rapidly aging organ. Approximately one in 60 carries two fast-aging organs. In these groups, the likelihood of death within the next 15 years increases by 15 to 50 percent for the former and rises roughly 6.5 times for those with two rapidly aging organs, compared with individuals whose organs age more slowly or normally.
Specific findings show that accelerated aging of the heart, even without active disease, associates with a 2.5-fold higher risk of heart failure. A brain that ages quickly correlates with an 1.8-fold higher chance of memory decline over five years, pointing to organ-specific aging as a meaningful predictor of future health outcomes.
These results emphasize that aging is a personalized process, varying from one organ to another. The research suggests that early identification of rapidly aging organs could guide targeted interventions to prevent adverse events and improve long-term survival. While the studies are early-stage, they offer a promising framework for proactive health monitoring that moves beyond a one-size-fits-all view of aging. Attribution: Nature.
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