Blood Proteins Plus a Wrist Sensor Read Biological Age Better
Graded Preliminary — a preprint not yet reviewed by experts, using data from tens of thousands of Britons; the drug findings are observations without random assignment.
- Design
- Preprint
- Participants
- 53,039
- Duration
- —
- Funding
- US National Institutes of Health (NIA, NIBIB, NIGMS)
Blood proteins and one week of movement data together estimate biological age more accurately than blood data alone.
Your birth certificate says little about how old your body really is. A research team tried to measure that by combining two sources: about 2,900 proteins in the blood and one week of movement data from a wrist sensor. Together, they estimated age more accurately than the blood data alone, missing by 2.3 years on average. They also predicted the risk of death more accurately.
The data came from the UK Biobank, a large British health database. Blood samples were available for 53,039 people and movement data for 103,572. The team also built separate age clocks for 49 organs, cell types and body systems. Heart and immune measures gained the most from adding movement data. The researchers then looked at medicines. People taking drugs such as GLP-1 medicines, the nerve drug gabapentin or certain blood pressure pills looked younger in their blood, had a lower risk of death or died later.
This does not show that these drugs slow aging. The data only reveal links, and the analysis did not account for people taking several drugs at once. The authors themselves call for trials where treatment is chosen at random. The work is also a preprint that independent experts have not yet reviewed.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: Several authors co-founded, advise or invest in biotech companies.
Disclaimer: Research summaries are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your health routine.