Scientists have developed a test that determines biological age based on blood markers

Scientists have tried to determine the biological age of people by identifying certain markers in the blood associated with aging.

They developed a test for the “index metabolism of healthy aging”, which showed 68% accuracy in determining biological age.

The new study, conducted by a team from the University of Pittsburgh, was published in the journal Aging Cellwrites Science Alert.

Scientists suggest that the research may help in the treatment of various diseases that occur with age.

According to them, in the future this knowledge can be used to determine biological age by blood analysis.

What is biological age?

Everyone knows that actual age is the number of years a person has lived. At the same time, biological age is a conventional name for an indicator of how “worn” body cells are.

Knowing this age can help determine disease risk, choose treatment, and better understand how fast the body ages.

“Imagine two people aged 65. One bikes to work, skis on weekends, and the other can’t climb stairs.

They have the same chronological age, but very different biological ones.” – says Aditi Gurkar, a geriatrician from the University of Pittsburgh.

To understand why this happens, scientists involved 196 elderly people in the study, who were divided into two groups.

The first group includes people aged 75+ who are healthy. Until the second – people aged 65-75, whose health is somewhat worse.

People in the first group could climb stairs or walk for 15 minutes without resting, while others needed breaks.

The researchers looked at the differences between these groups at the molecular level.

In particular, they were looking for various metabolites – small molecules that remain after biological processes in the body.

In total, the scientists identified 25 metabolites that showed significant differences between healthy people and rapidly aging people.

This group of molecules has been named the index of healthy aging metabolism (HAM). The team also identified three metabolites that appeared to be particularly important in the biological aging process.

“We chose to look at metabolites because they change in real time, reflecting the state of our health and well-being, and we can influence them through our lifestyle, diet and environment.” – says team leader Aditi Gurkar.

In tests on a separate group, the HAM index showed 68% accuracy in determining biological age. With further research, scientists hope to develop a blood test to determine biological age.