Study Finds Organ Health May Predict Dementia, Cancer Later in Life

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Your organs might be aging faster than you are — and that could increase your risk for serious diseases, including cancer, heart disease and dementia.

A new study, published in the March issue of The Lancet Digital Health, analyzed data from the long-running Whitehall II study, which has tracked over 10,000 British adults for more than 35 years.

Researchers examined blood samples from 6,235 participants, ages 45 to 89, to determine the biological age of the heart, blood vessels, liver, immune system, pancreas, kidneys, lungs, intestines and brain.

The findings revealed that organs age at different rates in different people — even within the same body. 

Those with “fast-aging” organs had a higher risk for 30 out of 45 age-related diseases studied, The Washington Post reported.

In some cases, the link was expected; for example, faster aging in the lungs was tied to a greater chance of developing respiratory diseases. 

However, some connections were surprising.

The study found that dementia was best predicted not by brain aging, but by the biological age of the immune system.

Researchers say this study highlights the potential for an organ-specific blood test to help identify early disease risks.

Lead author Mika Kivimaki, a professor at University College London, explained that such tests could one day “advise whether a person needs to take better care of a particular organ, and potentially provide an early-warning signal that they may be at risk of a particular disease.”

More information

The National Institutes of Health has more on tracking organ aging and disease.

SOURCE: The Washington Post, March 15, 2025

Source: HealthDay

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