Blood test measuring biological age may reveal dementia risk

Biological age is a measure of how fast a person’s cells are aging, independent of their actual calendar, or chronological age. It estimates a person’s age by measuring biomarkers and can represent an individual’s overall health state.

While chronological age can only move forward, biological age can be younger or older than calendar age, depending on health and lifestyle factors . Growing research suggests that a higher biological age, known as biological age acceleration , could serve as a reliable predictor of disease onset.

Now, new research led by scientists at King’s College London, in the United Kingdom, suggests a blood-based measure of biological age could help identify people at greater risk of developing dementia before clinical symptoms emerge. The study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre , was published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association .