A metabolomic profile of biological aging in 250,341 individuals from the UK Biobank

Nat Commun. 2024 Sep 15;15(1):8081. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-52310-9.

Abstract

The metabolomic profile of aging is complex. Here, we analyse 325 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) biomarkers from 250,341 UK Biobank participants, identifying 54 representative aging-related biomarkers associated with all-cause mortality. We conduct genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for these 325 biomarkers using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data from 95,372 individuals and perform multivariable Mendelian randomization (MVMR) analyses, discovering 439 candidate "biomarker - disease" causal pairs at the nominal significance level. We develop a metabolomic aging score that outperforms other aging metrics in predicting short-term mortality risk and exhibits strong potential for discriminating aging-accelerated populations and improving disease risk prediction. A longitudinal analysis of 13,263 individuals enables us to calculate a metabolomic aging rate which provides more refined aging assessments and to identify candidate anti-aging and pro-aging NMR biomarkers. Taken together, our study has presented a comprehensive aging-related metabolomic profile and highlighted its potential for personalized aging monitoring and early disease intervention.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Aging* / genetics
  • Aging* / metabolism
  • Biological Specimen Banks*
  • Biomarkers* / metabolism
  • Female
  • Genome-Wide Association Study*
  • Humans
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Male
  • Mendelian Randomization Analysis
  • Metabolome
  • Metabolomics* / methods
  • Middle Aged
  • UK Biobank
  • United Kingdom / epidemiology
  • Whole Genome Sequencing

Substances

  • Biomarkers