A new Duke University study has found that a blood test could show whether someone is going to live longer.
Over a 10-year period, researchers tested blood from more than 1,000 people ages 71 and older across North Carolina. The blood test predicted whether people live two, five, and ten years longer.
They found molecules called piRNAs that circulate in the blood. Duke University scientist and co-lead on the project Virginia Byers Kraus said they then learned that these tiny molecules showed who would live longer. The findings were published in the journal Aging Cell.
“We were shocked to find out that less is more,” she said. “The less you had of these, the longer you lived.”
As a result, the team discovered that people who had fewer piRNAs were more physically active in their lives, doing activities like travel, home chores, and exercise. Researchers used a predictive AI technology called Causal AI to discover piRNAs. Byers Kraus said the technology opens up a whole new area of not only testing, but also treatment.
“Because using Causal AI, we found factors that are not just associated and predicting whether somebody is going to survive, but that cause survival or prevent survival because of the nature of the analysis,” she said.
The team's next steps include studying whether treatments, lifestyle changes, or medications like GLP-1s might alter piRNA levels. They also plan to study people in their 30s up to age 100 across North Carolina.
