People whose biological age is higher than their actual chronological age have a significantly increased risk of stroke and dementia, especially vascular dementia. These are the outcomes of a study conducted by Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published within the journal ” Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

The study, led by Sara Hägg, associate professor, and Jonathan Mak, PhD student on the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, shows that the increased risk persists even when other risk aspects, corresponding to genetics, lifestyle and socioeconomic conditions, aren’t included. to bear in mind.

As we age, the danger of chronic diseases corresponding to cancer, heart problems and neurodegenerative disorders increases. Scientists have traditionally relied on chronological age – the variety of years an individual has lived – as a proxy measure of biological age.

Nevertheless, because people age at different rates, chronological age is a quite imprecise measure.”

Sara Hägg, associate professor, Karolinska Institutet

To measure biological age and association with disease, the researchers used data from the UK Biobank. They studied a cohort of 325,000 individuals who were between 40 and 70 years old on the time of the primary measurement.

Biological age was calculated based on 18 biomarkers, including blood lipids, blood sugar levels, blood pressure, lung function and BMI. The researchers then examined the connection between these biomarkers and the danger of developing neurodegenerative diseases corresponding to dementia, stroke, ALS and Parkinson’s disease over a nine-year period.

Compared with actual chronological age, high biological age has been related to a significantly increased risk of dementia, particularly vascular dementia and ischemic stroke (i.e. blood clots within the brain).

“If an individual’s biological age is five years older than their actual age, they’re 40% more prone to develop vascular dementia or stroke,” says Jonathan Mak.

Because that is an observational study, causality can’t be established. Nevertheless, the outcomes indicate that by slowing down the aging process when it comes to the measured biomarkers, the onset of the disease may be limited or delayed.

“Several values ​​may be influenced by lifestyle and medications,” says Sara Hägg.

The outcomes are particularly interesting since the study covered such a big group of individuals. This permits the fabric to be broken down into smaller pieces and capture less common diagnoses corresponding to ALS.

The danger of developing ALS also increases with biological age. Nevertheless, no such increase in risk was observed in Parkinson’s disease.

“We already know that Parkinson’s disease can be unique in other situations, for instance in relation to smoking,” says Sara Hägg.

Scientists will now proceed to analyze the connection between biological age and other diseases corresponding to cancer.

The study was funded by the Swedish Research Council, the KI Foundation and the Strategic Research Area for Epidemiology and Biostatistics at KI (SFOepi).