This is a very valuable longstanding study with remarkable predictive findings.
Proteomic organ-specific ageing signatures and 20-year risk of age-related diseases: the Whitehall II observational cohort study
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landig/article/PIIS2589-7500(25)00006-8/fulltext
It’s worth digging into, but there is also a pop-sci writeup,
Biological organ ages predict disease risk decades in advance
A few excerpts:
""We found that a quick and easy blood test can identify whether a specific organ is ageing faster than expected. In years to come, blood tests like this could play a crucial role in preventing numerous diseases.
“I believe that in the future of healthcare, the prevention of age-related diseases could begin much earlier, prioritising those who would benefit most and tailoring interventions to individual risk profiles.”
The research team, led by scientists from UCL Brain Sciences, the UCL Institute of Healthy Ageing, Stanford University, Inserm, and the University of Helsinki, analysed data from participants from the British Whitehall II study, a longitudinal cohort study that has been running since 1985 and is now led by Professor Kivimaki as Director."
"Follow-up data revealed that accelerated organ ageing predicted the risk of 30 different diseases over the next 20 years in initially healthy people. For instance, a heart that aged more rapidly predicted significantly increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, while people with accelerated lung ageing were predisposed to respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and lung cancer.
Surprisingly, the highest risk of dementia was found in those whose immune system aged faster than usual – not in those whose brains aged more rapidly in midlife. The scientists say this result supports previous findings that people prone to severe infections are also at higher risk for dementia later in life. The finding also suggests that inflammatory processes may play a key role in the development of neurodegenerative diseases.[rapamycin to the rescue?]
The researchers found that kidney health was particularly linked to other organs, as people with accelerated kidney ageing were more likely to later develop vascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and liver diseases, while biological ageing of nearly all organs predicted increased risk of kidney disease.
The researchers say that as our organs function in close coordination, accelerated ageing in one organ can impair the function of others, which may explain why people with a rapidly ageing organ were particularly prone to experiencing multiple age-related diseases across different organs."
"The researchers say their findings support a future shift in healthcare toward more personalised and effective disease prevention. With proteomic signatures of organ ageing, risk of age-related diseases can be identified earlier, preventive measures can be targeted more effectively, and interventions can be tailored to each person’s risk profile.
Professor Kivimaki added: “We hope our findings could contribute to new ways of helping people stay healthy for longer as they age. 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.”"
