Blood protein levels predict biological age, with aging occurring in three distinct phases.
Imagine a simple blood test revealing your true biological age. While we're not there yet, new research from Stanford University brings us closer. Scientists analyzed nearly 3,000 proteins in the blood plasma—the fluid, cell-free portion—of over 4,200 people aged 18 to 95. They identified 1,379 proteins whose levels change with age.
Remarkably, 373 of these proteins don't shift gradually. Instead, they stay stable for years before undergoing sudden changes up or down.
These shifts cluster around ages 34, 60, and 78, indicating aging progresses in three distinct phases rather than a steady continuum.
“We’ve long known certain blood proteins reflect health—lipoproteins for cardiovascular status, for example,” says Tony Wyss-Coray, PhD, professor at Stanford University and senior author of the study. “But it’s striking that roughly a third of those we examined change so dramatically with age.”
This work lays the foundation for blood tests to spot accelerated aging or elevated risks for age-related diseases.
In time, real-time tracking of cellular aging could personalize lifestyle tweaks—identifying foods and drinks that slow aging versus those that hasten it.
Details appear in the journal Nature Medicine.
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