Background: To establish a system for assessing pre-chronic disease status (PCDS) whereby changes in biomolecule levels occur before the appearance of physical damage to body organs. We based our study on the common biomarkers of aging, disease and end-of-life processes.
Methods: The red blood cell count as well as levels of albumin, creatinine and aspartate aminotransferase were used as indicators for measurement. The basic premise for determining PCDS was that the measured value was outside the reference range for a healthy individual. A binary outcome was determined according to reference range given by the laboratory undertaking the measurements. The Biological Age Index (BAI) was used to ascertain PCDS.
Results: The four indictors that we chose were sensitive for end-of-life and aging. The BAI score for each age group increased significantly with increasing age. The BAI score of patients with cardiac disease, cerebrovascular disease, cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were mostly higher than those in healthy age-matched people.
Conclusion: A system for assessing PCDS centered on biomolecular detection and independent of the pathologic diagnosis could be effective.
Keywords: Biological age; Biomarkers; Chronic disease; Clinical chemistry; Risk assessment.