Liver Aging Index: A Noninvasive Score for Liver Biological Aging and Liver-Related Outcomes in Multicohorts
Liver aging markers predict death and cancer risk better than age alone, revealing new targets for protecting liver health.
The Liver Aging Index is a noninvasive composite score developed in 21,629 CKB participants and externally validated in two independent cohorts (NHANES, VCTE-Prognosis; total 37,211 participants across 16 global centers), demonstrating superior mortality discrimination over chronological age and linking genetic predisposition to accelerated liver aging with liver cancer risk (HR 7.82). Integration of proteomics and genetics revealed novel involvement of the amyloid-beta clearance pathway in liver aging, suggesting both a clinical risk stratification tool and new mechanistic targets.
What the study was
- Study design
- Cohort study with external multi-cohort validation (development in CKB; external validation in NHANES and VCTE-Prognosis cohort)
- Population
- China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB, n=21,629) + NHANES (n=3,412) + VCTE-Prognosis (n=12,170; 16 global centers); total N=37,211
- Sample size
- 37211
- Category
- Early Detection
- Maturity
- Validated
- Journal
- Aging Cell
Why it surfaced
Noninvasive liver-specific aging index validated across 37,211 participants in 16 global centers; genetic evidence links accelerated liver aging to liver cancer (HR 7.82) and cirrhosis (HR 3.94), providing a clinically accessible risk stratification tool for early liver disease detection and prevention.
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