MRI-based multi-organ clocks for healthy aging and disease assessment

H Cao; Z Song; MR Duggan; G Erus; D Srinivasan; YE Tian; W Bai; MS Rafii; P Aisen; DW Belsky; KA Walker; A Zalesky; L Ferrucci; C Davatzikos; J Wen

Journal article

MRI-based multi-organ clocks for healthy aging and disease assessment

H Cao, Z Song, MR Duggan, G Erus, D Srinivasan, YE Tian, W Bai, MS Rafii, P Aisen, DW Belsky, KA Walker, A Zalesky, L Ferrucci, C Davatzikos, J Wen

Nature Medicine | Springer Science and Business Media LLC | Published : 2026

DOI: 10.1038/s41591-025-03999-8

Open access

Abstract

Biological aging clocks across organ systems and tissues have advanced understanding of human aging and disease. In this study, we expand this framework to develop seven magnetic resonance imaging-based multi-organ biological age gaps (MRIBAGs), including the brain, heart, liver, adipose tissue, spleen, kidney and pancreas. Using data from 313,645 individuals curated by the MULTI Consortium, we link the seven MRIBAGs to 2,923 plasma proteins, 327 metabolites and 6,477,810 common genetic variants. Genome-wide associations identify 53 MRIBAG−locus pairs (P < 5 × 10−8). Genetic correlation and Mendelian randomization analyses support organ-specific and cross-organ interconnection, including 24 ..

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