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Assessment of ageing using global mass-spectrometry based metabolomics: A cross-cohort longitudinal study in the UK and Ireland

Lau, C.-H. E.; Chekmeneva, E.; Pinto, R.; O'Halloran, A. M.; Chu, D. K. H.; Dehghan, A.; Tzoulaki, I.; Elliott, P.; Kenny, R. A.; McCrory, C.; Robinson, O.

2026-02-10 epidemiology
10.64898/2026.02.09.26345895 medRxiv
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IntroductionUnderstanding the links between metabolism, ageing and age-related phenotypes may clarify the role of ageing in disease onset and improve risk prediction. MethodsWe conducted a cross-cohort assessment of biological age using broad-spectrum LC-MS metabolomics in 2,295 participants, aged 20-89, from the UK Airwave study (N=960) and The Irish Longitudinal Study of Ageing (N=1,335). ResultsN2,N2-dimethylguanosine, C-glycosyltryptophan, bile acid glucuronides, and zeta-carotene were associated with chronological age, frailty, and mortality. We developed a metabolomic clock that was highly predictive of chronological age (r = 0.92) in test samples. Metabolomic age acceleration was strongly correlated between study visits (r > 0.6). Each standard deviation higher metabolomic age acceleration ([~]5 years) was associated with 43% higher mortality risk, 27% higher risk of mild cognitive impairment, and 10% increased risk of a higher frailty score in fully adjusted models. DiscussionOur metabolomic clock provides a reproducible marker of generalised age-related disease risk.

Published in GeroScience (predicted rank #10) · training set

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