Overview:
• Individuals age at different rates for a variety of reasons, including different levels of
exposure to risk factors and intrinsic variance in biological processes.
• Here, we provide a technique for calculating the biological age—or rate of ageing—of
18-year-old adults by utilising 18 clinical indicators from 9 organ systems.
• To identify which biomarkers at age 26 predict biological age at age 38, we use cross-
sectional data from the Dunedin cohort (N=954).
• According to our research, physiological dysregulation is a defining feature of aging,
and older biological ages are associated with an increased risk of chronic illness,
decreased physical function, cognitive decline, and early mortality.
• Notably, the pace of ageing may be detected in mid-life, indicating that early adulthood
would be the best time to begin anti-aging therapies.
• We come to the conclusion that accounting for ageing as the time-dependent
accumulation of various dysfunctions recapitulates patterns of global health
deterioration and offers a useful framework for assessing treatments aimed at
extending healthspan.
• The goal of the study is to use 18 clinical indicators from 9 organ systems to gauge the
biological age of 18-year-old individuals.
• The Dunedin cohort cross-sectional data (N=954) is used by the researchers to identify
the biomarkers that, at age 26, accurately predict biological age at age 38.
• They discover that physiological dysregulation is a defining feature of ageing and that
older biological ages are associated with an increased risk of chronic illness, decreased
physical function, cognitive decline, and early mortality.
• Given that the pace of ageing may be seen in midlife, measures to delay ageing would
need to begin in early adulthood.
Key Findings:
• The rate of aging, or biological age, in 18-year-old individuals was assessed by the
researchers using 18 clinical indicators from 9 organ systems.
• The characteristic of ageing is physiological dysregulation, and older biological ages
are associated with an increased risk of chronic illness, decreased physical function,
cognitive decline, and early mortality.
• Given that the pace of ageing may be seen in midlife, measures to delay ageing would
need to begin in early adulthood.
• By quantifying ageing as the time-dependent accumulation of various dysfunctions, the
study offers a means to evaluate treatments to increase healthspan.
The biomarkers implemented in each organ system are listed below:
Hematopoietic System:
• Mean corpuscular volume (MCV)
• Red blood cell distribution width (RDW)
Cardiovascular System:
• Systolic blood pressure (SBP)
• Mean arterial pressure (MAP)
• Pulse pressure (PP)
• Heart rate (HR)
Respiratory System:
• Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1)
• Forced vital capacity (FVC)
Renal System:
• Creatinine clearance (CrCl)
Metabolic System:
• Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)
• Total cholesterol (Tchol)
• High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol
• Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol
• Triglycerides (TG)
Liver System:
• Alanine transaminase (ALT)
• Alkaline phosphatase (ALP)
Immune System:
• C-reactive protein (CRP)
Cognitive System:
• Logical memory delayed recall
Musculoskeletal System:
• Grip strength.
Additional Details:
• The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development research, a longitudinal
research that followed 1,037 people from birth to age 45, provided the data for the
study.
• To quantify biological age, which is defined as the time-dependent accumulation of
dysfunctions in various physiological systems, the researchers employed 18 clinical
indicators from 9 organ systems.
• Age 26 was used to measure the biomarkers, and age 38 was used to determine
biological age.
• According to the study, there is significant individual variance in the rate of aging, and
this variation is caused by both environmental and hereditary variables.
• Higher biological ages are associated with greater risk of chronic illnesses, decreased
physical function, cognitive decline, and early mortality. Physiological dysregulation is a
characteristic of ageing.
• Given that the pace of ageing may be seen in midlife, measures to delay ageing would
need to begin in early adulthood.
• By quantifying ageing as the time-dependent accumulation of various dysfunctions, the
study also offers a viable way for evaluating treatments to increase healthspan.
• The study's overall conclusion emphasises the significance of comprehending the
variety of ageing across many organ systems in order to create successful therapies to
increase healthspan.
Evidence based articles and links:
The efficacy of vaccines against COVID-19:
• Efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in a nationwide vaccination
setting: A cohort study in Israel (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33626250/)
• Real-world effectiveness of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines against hospitalizations and
deaths in United States (https://www.medrxiv.org/content/
10.1101/2021.04.21.21255873v1#:~:text=mRNA%20vaccines%20were%2096%25%2
0(95,when%20participants%20were%20fully%20vaccinated.)
The impact of diet on health outcomes:
• Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
of observational studies (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29177567/)
• Systematic review of the impact of a plant-based diet on prostate cancer incidence and
outcomes (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35790788/
#:~:text=Observational%20studies%20demonstrated%20either%20a,environmental%
20sustainability%20and%20animal%20welfare.)
The effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy for mental health:
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders: an update on the empirical evidence
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4610618/)
• Cognitive behaviour therapy for depression in primary care: systematic review and
meta-analysis (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30688184/)
The effects of physical exercise on health outcomes:
• Physical activity and risk of breast cancer, colon cancer, diabetes, ischemic heart
disease, and ischemic stroke events: systematic review and dose-response meta-
analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (https:/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27510511/)
• Exercise as medicine - evidence for prescribing exercise as therapy in 26 different
chronic diseases (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26606383/)