Blood proteins predict mortality risk in older adults
Seventeen proteins in the blood are linked to a higher or lower risk of death in older adults. Two of them also associate with a biologically younger age across multiple organs.
Researchers screened more than 4,000 proteins in blood samples from 1,025 older adults and followed participants for an average of just over eight years. The study, published in Geromedicine, used the LonGenity cohort and independently validated its findings in 1,124 participants from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.
Which proteins stood out
Higher blood levels of the protein ERBB1 (a receptor found on cell surfaces) and ANTXR2 were associated with lower mortality risk and with biologically younger organ age across multiple organ systems. ERBB1 was specifically linked to a younger biological age of the liver.
On the other side, higher levels of GDF15, HE4, and IGFBP-2 were associated with increased mortality and older biological age across multiple organs. GDF15, also known as MIC-1, was linked to an older biological age at the whole-organism level.
What this means for aging research
Biological organ age in this study was estimated using proteomics, a method that measures the concentrations of hundreds of proteins simultaneously and compares them against patterns seen in younger people. The researchers emphasise that this is a prospective cohort study: it identifies associations, not causes.
Whether changing these protein levels would reduce mortality risk cannot be determined from this research alone.
Want to research this yourself?
Search for example:
- plasma proteome mortality risk older adults
- organ-specific biological aging
- proteomics cohort study