UCL-led research found that organs age at different rates in individuals—and a blood test can determine these biological age differences to predict disease risk decades later. Analysis of blood samples from over 6,200 middle-aged adults revealed that accelerated organ aging predicted the risk of 30 different diseases over a 20-year follow-up period.
Surprisingly, the highest risk of dementia was associated with accelerated immune system aging rather than brain aging. This finding suggests that inflammatory processes may play a key role in neurodegenerative diseases. The study also found that kidney health was particularly linked to other organs, as accelerated kidney aging predicted vascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and liver diseases.
All in all, the researchers believe such blood tests could enable more personalized disease prevention by identifying which organs need particular attention and therefore potentially serving as an early warning system for disease risk.