Longevity & AgingFive Blood Biomarkers Predict Multimorbidity Across All Measures in Older Adults
Researchers analyzed 54 blood biomarkers in 2,247 adults aged 60+ from the Swedish SNAC-K cohort, linking them to three measures of multimorbidity: total disease count, disease clustering patterns, and 15-year rate of disease accumulation. Using LASSO regression, five biomarkers — GDF-15, HbA1c, cystatin C, leptin, and insulin — consistently associated with all multimorbidity measures, highlighting metabolic and stress-response pathways as universal drivers. Additional biomarkers showed pattern-specific associations. Faster disease accumulation also correlated with higher gamma-glutamyl transferase and lower albumin. Results were validated in 522 participants from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, suggesting these biological signatures could serve as intervention targets to slow chronic disease accumulation in aging populations.
