Human study · Nutrition · 14 Oct 2026
In 18,476 people ages 1 to 96, a plasma metabolomic age gap lined up with later disease and death
Source: Science Translational Medicine
What the research found
Study (multi-center cohort). Cao and colleagues at Renji Hospital profiled plasma from 18,476 people ages 1 to 96 at six centers in China, published 14 Oct 2026. From 56 age-linked metabolites they built a stacked model of metabolomic age. People whose metabolomic age ran ahead of their birthday had more incident fatty liver disease, hypertension, and diabetes, and higher all-cause mortality, in follow-up from 2019 to 2025. A separate mortality-linked score rose as more organ systems were involved. The paper presents these as risk markers associated with health status, not as a diagnosis and not as a diet to copy. Sex-specific results are not given in the abstract. Not medical advice.
Evidence level: Human study. A study in people, but an association isn't proof of cause.
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