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Researchers from Leiden University Medical Center and the Max Planck Institute developed a personalized metabolic score based on 10 blood markers, using data from 44,000 European volunteers. The researchers say it may help identify people at higher risk of cardiometabolic disease and functional decline, but the report does not establish that the score is ready for routine clinical use.
Researchers from Leiden University Medical Center and Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging have developed an updated metabolic score based on 10 blood markers, which they say may help identify people at higher risk of cardiometabolic disease and functional decline. The score was built from data on 44,000 European volunteers and was presented by Leiden researcher Joris Deelen at FAPESP Week Netherlands; the available report describes it as a research tool, not an established routine clinical test.
The research team analyzed blood samples from volunteers involved in 12 European studies, measuring more than 200 substances, including markers related to fat, sugar and inflammation. Participants were followed over several years, during which 5,500 deaths were recorded. The researchers used the data to identify blood substances associated with mortality risk and to develop a score intended to summarize aspects of a person’s metabolic health.
The score was revised in three stages, according to the report. The researchers adjusted its calculation using data from the Dutch population to produce an individual result, reduced the test from hundreds of measurements to 10 blood markers already commonly assessed by doctors, and changed the scale so that a higher score indicates better health. The report says the revised score performed better at predicting cardiometabolic diseases such as diabetes, heart attack and stroke.
Deelen said a one-point increase in the revised score corresponded, on average, to a 14-year delay in the onset of a first cardiometabolic disease. That is a reported association from the research, not evidence that increasing someone’s score will itself delay disease. The account does not provide the full study methods, statistical details or a peer-reviewed paper citation, so the finding cannot be independently assessed from the report alone.
A Possible Tool for Earlier Risk Assessment
A blood-based score that condenses multiple metabolic measurements could offer researchers and clinicians a way to spot people who may benefit from closer assessment before disease or loss of function becomes apparent. The report says the score also correlated with measures related to healthy aging, including cognitive function, lung capacity and handgrip strength. These links suggest the measure may reflect more than the risk of a single condition, although correlation does not establish that the score causes or prevents those outcomes.
The team also examined lifestyle changes and strength training. According to Deelen, the overall group did not show a significant score change, but participants who started with a score below zero showed improvements in fasting insulin, triglycerides and body composition. The finding may point to a way of identifying groups that respond to interventions, but it does not establish which specific changes are most effective or whether the score can guide treatment decisions for individuals.
The researchers estimated that 40% of the score’s variation was attributable to heredity and 60% to lifestyle and environmental factors. Smoking had the strongest negative association among the behaviors analyzed, while regular physical activity was linked to a better score. These figures describe the researchers’ analysis; they should not be taken as a precise breakdown of an individual’s health or as proof that a particular behavior alone determines aging outcomes.
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How Researchers Built the Blood Score
The project addresses a broad public-health concern: the report says studies in multiple countries indicate that about 60% of people over 65 live with at least two chronic conditions. Deelen also pointed to differences in healthy life expectancy across Europe, comparing about four years after age 65 in Romania with ten years in the Netherlands. He attributed disparities mainly to socioeconomic circumstances, education, lifestyle and genetic factors.
Because biological aging cannot be measured directly, the team used blood chemistry as an indirect measure of metabolic function. The project included scientists from Leiden University Medical Center and the Max Planck Institute, with work to update the score involving Brazilian researcher Gabriela Natalle Lopes, who studied at the Albert Einstein Israelite Faculty and worked with the Leiden group. The report also mentions separate research at Brazil’s Federal University of São Carlos on links between musculoskeletal aging and dementia, but provides too little detail to assess that work or establish how it relates to the score.
“In the original scoring, a high number was bad; we decided to change it so that a higher score indicates better health.”
— Joris Deelen, Leiden University Medical Center
Validation and Clinical Use Remain Open
The report does not identify a peer-reviewed publication, give the score’s exact calculation, or provide measures of predictive accuracy. It is also unclear how well the score performs in populations outside the European studies used to develop it, including people with different backgrounds or existing illnesses. Adjusting the score with Dutch population data does not by itself demonstrate that it works equally well elsewhere.
The lifestyle findings need careful interpretation: the reported improvement was concentrated among people with below-zero starting scores, and the group’s overall score did not change significantly. The account does not specify the size or duration of the intervention groups or whether benefits persisted. It also does not establish that using the score to select interventions improves health outcomes compared with existing clinical assessments.
Further Testing Before Routine Screening
The next steps are to establish the score’s performance in independent populations and to publish enough methodological detail for other researchers to evaluate and reproduce the results. Studies would also need to test whether the 10-marker version adds useful information to standard risk assessments and whether acting on its results changes patient outcomes.
Until such evidence and clinical guidance are available, the score should be understood as a research development rather than a replacement for established tests or medical evaluation. The report does not give a timeline for further studies or say when, or whether, the tool could be offered in routine care.
Key Questions
What does the new metabolic score measure?
It combines 10 blood markers related to metabolism into a personalized result. The revised scale is designed so that a higher number indicates better health, according to the researchers.
Does a higher score prove someone will avoid disease?
No. The research describes associations between the score and disease risk. It does not show that a high score guarantees protection or that changing the score itself prevents illness.
What did the researchers find about lifestyle changes?
The report says the overall intervention group did not have a significant change in score. Participants who began below zero showed improvements in fasting insulin, triglycerides and body composition after lifestyle changes and strength training.
Can doctors use the score now?
The report does not say that the score is approved or in routine clinical use. Its accuracy in other populations and its ability to improve care need further evaluation.
Source: news-medical.net
