Organ aging can predict diseases decades in advance

A simple blood test that identifies how much each of our organs has aged could help detect the likelihood of developing conditions such as heart disease or lung cancer – decades in advance. 

By revealing which organs are aging more rapidly than expected, this approach offers a possible route to preventing a wide range of illnesses before they take hold.

In a new study, researchers discovered that varying rates of organ aging correlate strongly with subsequent health outcomes. 

The findings demonstrate how “accelerated aging” in one organ can predict an increased risk not only of diseases specific to that organ but also a host of conditions elsewhere in the body. 

Organs age at different rates

The project was led by a team including scientists from University College London (UCL), Stanford University, Inserm, and the University of Helsinki. The researchers analyzed data from the British Whitehall II study, a long-running cohort investigation overseen by Professor Mika Kivimaki.

“Our organs function as an integrated system, but they can age at different rates. Aging in particular organs can contribute to numerous aging-related diseases, so it’s important for us to take care of all aspects of our health,” said Kivimaki, the study’s lead author. 

“We found that a quick and easy blood test can identify whether a specific organ is aging faster than expected. In years to come, blood tests like this could play a crucial role in preventing numerous diseases.”

Measuring gaps in organ aging

In the late 1990s, blood samples were collected from more than 6,200 individuals, all middle-aged adults at the time. 

The scientists used these samples to calculate the biological age of nine different organs – namely the heart, blood vessels, liver, immune system, pancreas, kidneys, lungs, intestines, and the brain – as well as an overall measure for the entire body. 

They compared each organ’s biological age to a person’s chronological age, uncovering significant disparities within the same individual. Some organs aged at a relatively slow pace, while others appeared far older than expected.

After measuring these age “gaps,” the researchers tracked each participant’s health status for two decades using national medical registries. 

By the close of the follow-up period, participants were aged between 65 and 89, and many had experienced at least one of the age-related conditions considered in the study.

Predicting disease over decades

The analysis revealed that individuals whose organs showed rapid aging were more susceptible to 30 different illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, respiratory infections, and various cancers. 

A heart that aged unusually fast predicted elevated odds of heart conditions, whereas accelerated aging in the lungs was linked to a higher risk of lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and respiratory infections.

Interestingly, participants with an immune system that aged more rapidly than normal proved to have the greatest likelihood of developing dementia, surpassing those with a more quickly aging brain. 

The investigators connect this result to existing evidence linking susceptibility to severe infections with a higher dementia risk down the line, suggesting that inflammatory activity may drive or exacerbate neurodegenerative processes.

Close coordination among organs

Another noteworthy finding highlighted the kidneys. People whose kidney age outpaced expectations tended to confront a heightened risk of vascular disease, liver disease, and type 2 diabetes. 

At the same time, accelerated aging in nearly any organ predicted a greater chance of suffering kidney damage in the future. 

According to the authors, these patterns demonstrate the tight coordination among our organs, wherein malfunction in one system can have wide-ranging effects on others.

Catching the onset of organ aging 

For many years, testing blood biomarkers separately was too expensive to be practical for large-scale preventive strategies. 

However, recent advances in proteomic technologies now allow scientists to examine thousands of proteins simultaneously from a single sample, supplying fresh insight into how quickly a specific organ might be aging. 

Blood protein levels respond to factors such as environment, lifestyle, disease, and medications, making them valuable indicators of a person’s physiological state over time.

“I believe that in the future of healthcare, the prevention of age-related diseases could begin much earlier, prioritizing those who would benefit most and tailoring interventions to individual risk profiles,” Kivimaki explained. 

By catching the onset of accelerated aging in a particular organ, healthcare providers can focus on preventing future problems. 

Diet changes, exercise programs, or even targeted medical interventions could slow or reverse damage in the system that shows the most alarm.

A new approach to disease prevention

Because a rapidly aging organ often signals potential trouble elsewhere, the study endorses a more holistic viewpoint on disease prevention. 

Rather than concentrating on isolated symptoms or risk factors, doctors could soon use blood test results to anticipate which organs warrant the most urgent attention. 

This method could reshape how screenings and check-ups are conducted, allowing for highly targeted counseling and therapies before irreversible damage occurs. “We hope our findings could contribute to new ways of helping people stay healthy for longer as they age,” noted Kivimaki. 

“Blood tests may advise whether a person needs to take better care of a particular organ, and potentially provide an early-warning signal that they may be at risk of a particular disease.”

In effect, the ability to monitor organ-specific aging might be a stepping stone toward personalized healthcare, where prevention is carefully crafted to an individual’s physiology and medical history.

Moving forward, integrating proteomic data into clinical practice holds the promise of detecting risky aging trajectories earlier than ever before. By revealing how each organ ages on its own timetable, doctors and patients alike can more effectively manage health to preserve vitality well into older adulthood.

The study is published in the journal Lancet Digital Health.

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