How blood tests impact our lives
1. An indicator of aging, intrinsic capacity is the sum of a person's mental and physical capacities.
2. Healthy aging is based on maintaining physical and mental function.
3. Formerly, assessing intrinsic capacity has been a costly and time-consuming process.
Now, researchers have developed a method for assessing intrinsic capacity and age-related decline from a single drop of blood or saliva.
4. They suggest that their test could be used to track aging and guide targeted interventions to maintain mental and physical function as people age.
Definition
The World Health Organization (WHO) Trusted Source defines intrinsic capacity (IC) as "all the physical and mental capacities that a person can draw on, including their ability to walk, think, see, hear, and remember."
A person's intrinsic capacity is influenced by a number of things, like whether they have diseases, injuries, or changes that come with age. For healthy aging, intrinsic capacity must be maintained. However, measuring intrinsic capacity has, until now, required sophisticated equipment and trained personnel.
A new study has found that measuring DNA methylationTrusted Source in blood samples to assess intrinsic capacity effectively predicts all-cause mortality.
The study, which was published in Nature Aging Trusted Source, suggests that the IC clock could be a useful tool for guiding specific interventions to maintain function in older age and tracking aging. Thomas M. According to Holland, MD, MS, a physician-scientist and assistant professor at the RUSH Institute for Healthy Aging, College of Health Sciences, who was not involved in this study, shared the following comments with Medical News Today: “DNAm IC, a blood or saliva-based test for intrinsic capacity, is an extremely promising instrument in aging science. […] This test uses DNA methylation patterns, chemical tags that regulate gene activity, to estimate your IC biologically, offering insights into how well your body is functioning compared to your chronological age.”
The fact that this test only requires a small amount of blood or saliva makes it accessible and noninvasive, which is one of its most important features. It tells us not just how old you are, but how well you are aging, which is much more meaningful to help inform which interventions should be implemented, if any, to help prevent future health problems,” Holland explained.
The findings were also welcomed by Elena Rolt, MSc, DipION, IFMCP, a Registered Nutritional Therapist, Functional Medicine Practitioner, and cofounder of Health Miro who was not a part of this study. “The DNA methylation-based intrinsic capacity (DNAm IC) test shows significant potential as a practical measure of biological aging,“ Rolt told MNT. “Unlike traditional epigenetic clock based tests, it also captures functional aging more directly.“
“As it reflects immune aging, physical capacity and lifestyle-related risk factors, this test may be particularly relevant for personalised aging interventions and preventive strategies,” she added.
“However,” Rolt cautioned, “its use should be complementary to other markers — e.g. PhenoAge, GrimAge, functional tests — and its utility in clinical practice will depend on further validation.”
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