Blood test determines organ age and helps predict disease risk

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By Storm Newton, Health Reporter, PA

Using a blood test to determine the biological age of a person’s organs could help treat them before they get sick, as well as predicting the progression of conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, researchers have suggested.

A study by academics in the US found people whose organs were ageing faster than the rest of their body had a higher risk of developing diseases in that particular organ within 15 years.

The team, led by academics from Stanford University in California, used machine learning to assess the protein levels in human blood.

The study focused on 11 key organs, organ systems or tissues, including the brain, heart, lung, kidney, liver, pancreas and intestine, as well as the immune system, muscle, fat and vasculature.

To train their algorithm, the team checked the levels of almost 5,000 proteins in the blood of 1,398 healthy patients at Knight Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centre.

They ranged in age from 20 to 90, but were mostly in the mid to late stages of life.