A blood test will show the real age

Over time, the human body and its individual organs age. Lifestyle factors, such as smoking and stress, influence the molecular processes and the rate of the aging process, determining the biological age of a person. Swedish researchers from Uppsala University, working under the guidance of Professor Ulf Gyllenstein, have demonstrated that a simple blood test is able to detect the influence of lifestyle on the age of the body. 

As part of the study, scientists analyzed the content of 77 proteins in the blood plasma of 976 people and showed that the levels of proteins circulating in the blood predict the chronological (calendar) age of a person with a fairly high accuracy, as well as his anthropometric data, such as body weight, height and hip girth. Also, the protein profile of blood plasma can be used to identify factors that accelerate or slow down aging, with a discrepancy between the values of the calculated (in this case, corresponding to biological) and calendar age.

The results of the calculations showed that smoking, a high body mass index and the consumption of sugar-containing beverages increases the estimated (biological) age by 2-6 years compared to the chronological one. At the same time, eating fatty fish and a moderate amount of coffee, as well as physical activity, reduce the estimated age by about the same number of years. 

Knowing the biological age and monitoring its changes during treatment or after making lifestyle changes can facilitate the motivation of patients to complete a course of therapy or to further adhere to a new, healthier lifestyle.

Moreover, the new method can be applied to dried blood drops, which makes it suitable for forensic research. It can be used to create a "phantom portrait" of a criminal based on data on his basic anthropometric indicators.

Article by Stefan Enroth et al. Protein profiling reveals consequences of lifestyle choices on predicted biological aging published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Evgeniya Ryabtseva

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on Uppsala University: Blood test reveals your real age.