It shows the hidden warning signs.
Your organs may age at different rates than the rest of your body, potentially increasing your risk for serious health conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and dementia, according to a recent study. The research, published in The Lancet Digital Health, examined data from the Whitehall II study, which has tracked over 10,000 British adults for more than 35 years.
Researchers analyzed blood samples from 6,235 participants, aged 45 to 89, to determine the biological age of various organs, including the heart, lungs, liver, immune system, and brain. They found that organs age differently across individuals, even within the same body. This uneven aging process can increase the likelihood of developing certain age-related diseases.
The study revealed that people with faster-aging organs had a higher risk of developing 30 out of the 45 age-related diseases examined. For example, faster aging in the lungs was associated with an increased risk of respiratory diseases. However, there were some unexpected findings as well, such as the discovery that dementia was more strongly linked to the biological age of the immune system than the brain.
These results suggest that biological aging in specific organs can serve as early indicators of potential disease risks. Researchers believe that organ-specific blood tests could help doctors assess whether a person should focus on caring for a particular organ to reduce their risk of disease.
Mika Kivimaki, the lead author of the study, emphasized that such tests could one day provide crucial information about a person’s health and help detect disease risks early, offering an opportunity to take preventive measures before serious conditions develop.
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