Stanford University finds ways to predict which organs are aging first

When you have birthday every year, it means you are one year older, but does your age match your body age? According to a study published in the journal Nature, the rate of aging of body organs may be inconsistent with a person's legal age and indicates future risks.

A study of more than 5,500 people led by researchers at the Medical School of Stanford University in the United States shows that our organs aging rate is different. When the age of a certain organ is particularly earlier than that of other people of the same person, this will lead to an emergency increase in death and disease risks related to the body.

The study further points out that at least one organ is aging at an extremely fast rate in about every five healthy adults over 50 years of age.

In fact, aging is the key driver of the world's most deadly diseases, including diabetes, heart failure, cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Our physiological age provides some information about our risk of these diseases, but to improve predictions, scientists tried to develop a measure of "biological age" to better reflect the degree of wear in our bodies.

The research group used blood tests to measure proteins related to organs, including important organs such as brain, heart, immune tissue and kidney, to determine which organs in a human body are aging rapidly.

The gap between organ age and actual age

According to the organs involved, studies have found that at least one participant who accelerates the aging organ will have an increased risk of illness and death over the next 15 years.

For example, those who accelerate the aging of their hearts have a risk of heart failure than those who typically have aging of their hearts. Similarly, heart aging is also a strong predictor of the occurrence of heart disease. The extreme aging of the kidneys is closely related to hypertension and diabetes.

In addition, those who age rapidly have a risk of decreasing cognitive function than those who are relatively "lighter" brains. It is worth noting that compared with the best clinical biomarkers at present, accelerated aging of the brain or vascular system, it also predicts the progress risks of Alzheimer's disease.

One of the study's lead authors, Dr. Tony Wyss-Coray, said in the press release that we can estimate the organ biological age of a person who is apparently healthy. In contrast, this can predict the risk of a person suffering from a disease related to the organ.

Wyss-Coray told Scientific American monthly issue that every organ is important for overall health. He compared the human body to a car: if one part does not work properly, the other parts will begin to be affected. In other words, if certain parts are maintained, the life of the car can be extended.

Paul Shiels, a professor of cell geriatrics at the University of Glasgow, UK, told Scientists that a single organ cannot tell the entire story of aging because the degeneration process is related to each other and affects the adjustment of an organic body.

Shiels said we have a lot of knowledge about the aging process on the microscope, but many of the factors that lead to age-related organ dysfunction are environmental factors. So this is lifestyle, dyeing, what you eat and the microorganisms in your brain. He has not participated in the study.