People whose biological age is older than their chronological age have a significantly increased risk of stroke and dementia, according to a new study from Sweden.
Results from the Karolinska Institutet study are published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
The researchers from the university’s Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics found that the increased risk persists even when other health, lifestyle and socioeconomic risk factors are taken into account.
The risk of developing chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease increase as we get older.
In the past, researchers have relied upon chronological age as an approximate measure of biological ageing.
The researchers used data from the UK Biobank to measure biological age and its link to disease.
To do this, they studied a cohort of 325,000 people aged between 40 and 70 years old at the time of the first measurement.
Biological age was calculated using 18 biomarkers, blood sugar, blood pressure, blood lipids, lung function and BMI.
The researchers then investigated the relationship between the biomarkers and the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases such as stroke, dementia, ALS and Parkinson’s disease within a nine-year period.
When compared to chronological age, high biological age was linked to a significantly increased risk of dementia, especially vascular dementia and ischemic stroke.
Doctoral student Jonathan Mak said: “If a person’s biological age is five years higher than their actual age, the person has a 40 per cent higher risk of developing vascular dementia or suffering a stroke.”
Finding from the study suggest that medication or lifestyle changes could help to reduce or delay the onset of disease.
Meanwhile, the large study pool makes it possible to capture less common diagnoses such as ALS, which also increases alongside biological age.
However, the research revealed no such increase for Parkinson’s disease.
Associate professor Sara Hägg said: “We already know that Parkinson’s disease is a bit unique in other contexts as well, for example, when it comes to smoking.”
