Many older people, but also increasingly younger ones, suffer from several diseases at the same time. Scientists at the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, along with colleagues from Munich and the United Kingdom, have now identified common risk factors that are susceptible to a number of even unrelated diseases. These were achieved by evaluating data from more than 11,000 study participants, from whom both disease progression and broad blood values were available. The results argue for a holistic approach to disease prevention. The scientists have now published their findings in the journal Nature Medicine.
Many older people suffer at the same time from a number of diseases, often quite different, a condition also known as multimorbidity. Their quality of life is severely limited, and they receive medication from different doctors, a process that is difficult and often insufficiently coordinated. Observation shows that some diseases usually appear together, but the reasons for this are unknown.
Data from over 11,000 participants
In a recent study, a team led by Dr. Claudia Langenberg, BIH Professor of Computational Medicine, and scientists from Munich and the United Kingdom have now identified several metabolic processes that are connected not only by one, but at the same time by up to 14 diseases. The scientists analyzed data from more than 11,000 participants in the EPIC-Norfolk cohort study. This records hundreds of measurements from blood samples, as well as clinical data about diseases over 20 years of follow-up.
“We wanted to find out if there are specific symptoms in the blood that indicate a risk, not just for one but for several diseases at the same time,” Langenberg explains. The scientists first studied the density of hundreds of different molecules in the blood samples of 11,000 study participants, then examined how the density of individual metabolites was associated with the onset of 27 serious diseases. in the participants.The metabolites consisted not only of known metabolic products such as sugars, fats and vitamins, but also substances whose concentration is dependent on genetic or environmental factors. The experts are able to detect the contaminant results of drugs, coffee consumption or the presence of gut bacteria using a process called molecular profiling. “
More than 20 years of electronic medical data
The blood samples were taken from the participants more than 20 years ago and have been stored at 196 degrees Celsius ever since. At that time, the people were mostly healthy. The diseases they subsequently developed were systematically recorded in detail for over 20 years through electronic hospital data. “This allowed us to study how the density of hundreds of molecules in the blood is linked to the development of one or more diseases,” Langenberg explains.
For example, the team found that the concentration of many disease-related metabolites in the blood was explained by liver and kidney function, obesity or chronic inflammation. But they also found that some lifestyle factors or a smaller diversity of intestinal bacteria, also known as the gut microbiome, affect blood levels and so they can speculate the development of disease over time. It turned out that half of the molecules found were associated with a greater or lower risk of at least one disease – mostly with several, sometimes quite different, diseases. identification of metabolic pathways that increase the risk of heterosexuality.
Two-thirds of all metabolites are associated with more than one disease
“We found, for example, that increased concentrations of molecules like N-acetylneuraminate sugar increased the risk of less than 14 diseases,” explained Maik Pietzner, a scientist working with Claudia Langenberg and lead author of the paper. “Gamma-glutamylglycine, on the other hand, is directly related to diabetes. Other members of the same molecular groups simultaneously increase the risk of liver and heart disease.” Langenberg said: ” Overall, we found that two-thirds of molecules are associated with more than one disease, depending on how patients often develop a range of diseases during their lifetime. On these key points, this could make it possible to fight several diseases at once. “
All results are publicly available
The scientists’ extensive analysis enables insight into the various factors affecting human metabolism that was not previously possible at this level of precision. To bring this reference to scientists around the world, the authors have developed a web application called “omicscience.org.” It makes all results publicly available in graphic format so that they can be used in new studies. Langenberg said: “The website allows scientists to determine key influencing factors for any molecules they are interested in or to find completely new links between diseases. This was only possible because of our approach. systematic, data-based. “
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Magazine Reference:
Pietzner, M., et al. (2021) plasma metabolites to profile pathways in non-communicable disease pathogens. Nature’s cure. doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01266-0.