Artificial intelligence in the field of health – C006/25-SP
10 December, 2025Investigator Initiated Studies Medical Program – QIAGEN GMBH
10 December, 2025
The study provides, for the first time, international references based on nuclear magnetic resonance to more accurately assess the lipid profile by age and sex
So far, the results of blood tests for indicators such as cholesterol to triglycerides They were used to predict the risk of suffering from heart disease, such as a infarct or a stroke. But what if we had new reference values that allowed us to be even more precise when assessing cardiovascular risk?
Scientists from the CIC BioguneBased on this premise, they have led a international study which represents a giant leap forward in the pursuit of precision. These researchers have managed to quantify up to 112 lipoprotein parameters They have established age- and sex-specific reference values to predict cardiovascular (CVD) risk more accurately than traditional methods. For the first time, international reference values have been established for lipoprotein parameters derived from nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, which will allow for a more personalized assessment of cardiovascular risk, taking into account the age, sex and metabolic conditions of each individual.
The results show critical inflection points in metabolism that may be periods of increased cardiovascular risk: in women around ages 44 and 60, and in men around age 60. Furthermore, it concludes that Aging and cardiovascular diseases share common metabolic pathways.
The study has been published in the prestigious medical journal 'eBioMedicine'. After analyzing more than 31.000 serum and plasma samples, coming from people of five countries, through nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), blood lipids have been studied in detail. Thus, using the innovative BILISA™ platform, reference values by age and sex have been defined for 112 lipoprotein parameters, improving the prediction of cardiovascular risk and bringing us closer to more precise and personalized medicine.
Stages of higher cardiovascular risk
The results show that the Lipid profiles change non-linearly with ageAnd that there are critical turning points in metabolism: in women around 44 and 60 years of age, and in men around 60 years of age. These points could mark stages where cardiovascular risk accelerates or changes significantly.
The study also analyzed factors such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes These lipoprotein profiles are altered. VLDL and HDL particles proved to be the most sensitive to these factors. Furthermore, the parameters obtained using NMR demonstrated a greater capacity to distinguish cardiovascular risk than traditional clinical measurements.
The work introduced advanced statistical models (QGAM) to estimate the smooth and continuous evolution of these parameters, and detect the so-called turning points, moments when lipid metabolism changes most rapidly.
According to the research team, these findings reinforce the idea that aging and cardiovascular disease share metabolic pathways common, which could help in designing more effective prevention strategies.
Furthermore, the study highlights the clinical potential of benchtop NMR spectrometers, which could facilitate the implementation of this type of analysis in hospitals and health centers, making accessible precision medicine based on metabolic data possible.
The study is the result of extensive international collaboration between institutions in Europe, America and Oceania, including: CIC bioGUNE (Spain), Murdoch University and the Australian National Phenome Centre (Australia), the Medical University of Graz (Austria), the University of Zaragoza and the IIS Aragón (Spain), Imperial College London (United Kingdom), the University of Valle (Colombia), Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (USA), the University of Beira Interior (Portugal), Bruker Biospin GmbH (Germany) and the Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda together with the Università degli Studi di Milano (Italy).
Source: Telecinco
