Abstract. Integral biological age (BA) encompasses a holistic assessment of an individual's overall physiological state, taking into account various biological markers that may contribute to the ageing process. This article presents a novel method for determining the integral biological age, a comprehensive measure that considers multiple biological markers and factors to assess an individual's ageing process. We will delve into the various components and biomarkers utilized in our method, including cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal systems functionality, and other molecular markers associated with ageing. By combining these diverse indicators, we create an integrated framework that provides a holistic view of an individual's ageing trajectory.
The study included 124 practically healthy people aged from 20 to 90 years, who were examined at the «D.F. Chebotarev Institute of Gerontology of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine». People with pathologies of the cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine and central nervous systems, chronic liver and kidney diseases, and pathologies of the hematopoietic system were excluded from the analysis.
We recorded 74 indicators characterizing different body systems: hearing, cardiovascular, respiratory, and musculoskeletal systems, as well as autonomic regulation and metabolism. To build a model of integral BA, indicators of each of the systems that have the highest correlation with age were selected. An important selection criterion was the low cross-correlation of these indicators. The use of step-by-step multiple regression made it possible to select the most informative indicators and obtain an equation that relates the age of the subjects with a number of indicators of the main body systems.
The resulting calculation formula includes 11 indicators characterizing different body systems. The coefficient of determination of the model R2 was 0.738, indicating the high accuracy of the created model. The mean absolute error of age calculation was 5.34±3.99 years. After correcting the systematic error of the regression equation, the average absolute error in calculating the age was 4.72±3.25 years. The rate of ageing was estimated as the difference between BA and CA. If this difference exceeds the value of the model error, a conclusion can be made about accelerated ageing.
Thus, the method for assessing the rate of ageing developed by us has high accuracy and can be used to assess the risk of developing age-dependent pathology. The implementation of the proposed method will allow not only to identify people with the risk of developing pathology but also to assess the effectiveness of treatment, prophylactic and rehabilitation measures.
Keywords: integral biological age; method calculation; cardiovascular; respiratory; musculoskeletal systems; metabolism; human
