European researchers distilled more than 200 blood measures from 44,000 volunteers into a simple score based on just ten routine markers. A higher score was linked to a later first cardiometabolic disease, but the finding is an association, not a promise that raising the score buys extra healthy years.
The problem: healthy years vary widely
Studies in several countries indicate that about 60% of people over 65 live with two or more chronic conditions. Joris Deelen of Leiden University Medical Center presented the new indicator at FAPESP Week Netherlands, as MedicalXpress reports. He noted how much healthy life expectancy differs across Europe: about four years after 65 in Romania versus ten in the Netherlands. In his words, the gap stems mainly from socioeconomic status, education, lifestyle and genetics.
From 200 substances to ten
Because biological aging cannot be measured directly, the team, which included scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging in Cologne, searched the blood instead. They followed 44,000 volunteers across 12 European studies and measured over 200 substances, including fat and sugar levels and inflammation markers. Among them, 5,500 deaths were recorded, which allowed the researchers to identify which substances signal higher mortality risk.
The score was then updated in three steps, with input from Brazilian exchange student Gabriela Natalle Lopes. The calculation was adjusted using Dutch population data to give personalized results. The test was cut down to ten markers doctors already use. And the scale was reversed, so a higher score now means better health.
What the score was linked to
The new version predicted cardiometabolic disease (diabetes, heart attack, stroke) even better. According to Deelen, a one-point increase corresponds to an average 14-year delay in the first such disease. The score also correlated with cognitive function, lung capacity and handgrip strength.
Can lifestyle move it?
In tests with lifestyle changes and strength training, the group’s average score did not change significantly. Among people who started below zero, however, the interventions significantly lowered fasting insulin and triglycerides and improved body composition. Deelen concluded that the score could help identify who needs intervention and track gains from exercise.
The score is about 40% heritable and 60% shaped by lifestyle and environment. Smoking had the largest negative effect, regular physical activity improved it, and even childhood malnutrition was associated with lower scores in adulthood.
A related Brazilian angle
The article also covers work at the Federal University of São Carlos. Tiago da Silva Alexandre’s group describes communication between muscle, bone, fat and brain, with fat infiltration in muscle and low vitamin D tied to loss of mobility and cognitive decline. A new centre, CCD-MIDEM, will use AI and biomarkers to support early dementia diagnosis in Brazil’s public health system.
What to keep in mind
The 14-year figure describes an average association, not a guaranteed gain from raising the score by one point. The score is best read as a strong risk marker rather than proof that changing it extends healthy life. The article reports Deelen’s presentation rather than a published paper, so details such as the ten markers are not specified.
Source: Personalized score uses ten blood markers to flag disease risk and assess healthy aging, MedicalXpress, by Elton Alisson, FAPESP.
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