Biomarkers & Clocks
Human observational
Blood proteins estimate the age of 11 organs and forecast disease and death
Source: Nature Medicine
What the study found
Using 2,916 plasma proteins from 44,498 UK Biobank participants, Stanford researchers estimated biological age for 11 organs and linked older-looking organs to future heart failure, COPD, type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s over up to 17 years. People with 8 or more aged organs had about 8 times the mortality risk, while a youthful brain and immune system were tied to lower risk.
Why it matters for healthspan
Organ-level clocks could eventually show which system is aging fastest in a given person and whether an intervention is helping. These are associations in a largely UK cohort, and the tests are not yet validated for routine clinical decisions.
Evidence level
Human observational · Biomarkers & Clocks
Source
Oh HS, Le Guen Y, Rappoport N, et al. Nat Med. 2025;31(8):2703-2711. doi:10.1038/s41591-025-03798-1
Educational summary curated by Farhan Tahir, MD, FACR. Not individual medical advice.
Primary source
Oh HS, Le Guen Y, Rappoport N, et al. Nat Med. 2025;31(8):2703-2711. doi:10.1038/s41591-025-03798-1