New Blood Test Shows Promise in Predicting Disease Risk up to 10 Years Early
LONDON – A groundbreaking study leveraging metabolic profiles from the UK Biobank is offering the potential to detect disease risk - including dementia and cancer – up to 10 to 15 years before symptoms manifest,researchers announced. the findings,based on analysis of 500,000 metabolic profiles,could revolutionize preventative medicine and accelerate the development of targeted treatments.
Dr. Susanne mutz utilizes these metabolic profiles to predict dementia risk, enabling potential early intervention to mitigate the condition’s development. The new data is also expected to advance the prediction of rarer neurodegenerative diseases like frontotemporal dementia.
Researchers at the University of Oxford, including molecular epidemiologist dr. Najaf Amin, gained early access to the data and uncovered distinctions in the aging processes and disease development between males and females. “We are now going to dive further into the use of medications among males and females,” Dr. Amin added, suggesting the work may illuminate how sex influences medication efficacy.
The UK Biobank, which began recruiting volunteers in 2006, combines medical records, imaging data, and now comprehensive metabolic profiles, providing approved scientists with a powerful resource to explore the connections between lifestyle, genetics, environment, and health.
“Studying metabolites is a powerful way to unveil new warning signs of disease, understand how illnesses start and evolve, and track how well treatments are working,” stated Prof. Naomi Allen, chief scientist at UK Biobank.
This article was amended on 20 November 2025. An earlier version referred to “creatine” when creatinine was intended.
