Longevity Testing - What should you test and why?
Key Takeaways
Lifespan refers to the number of years that a person lives, while healthspan refers to the number of years that they spend in good health, free from major disability.
Singapore is one of the longest-lived societies on the globe, and life expectancy in Singapore has been increasing.
Individuals can benefit from testing to help optimize their lifespan and healthspan.
Different people may need different specific tests. A doctor’s prescription is needed for these tests.
The results of these tests can be used to create a personalized plan for improving longevity, which may include lifestyle changes, supplements, and/or medications as needed.
World Health Organization data show that Singapore is one of the longest-lived societies on the globe. The average life expectancy in Singapore is 83.9 years. The healthy average life expectancy, or the number of years that a person can expect to live in full health, is currently 73.6 years.
Both of these numbers have been increasing over the past two decades. In fact, Singapore has recently been declared a Blue Zone – one of the regions of the world with the highest percentage of people who live to age 100 or older.
Although the average person in Singapore lives a relatively long life, there’s still significant variation between individuals. Many people are interested in learning about their own likelihood of living a long and healthy life. While it’s not possible to determine exactly how long an individual’s lifespan will be, there are various tests that can be used to assess a person’s health status. Using this information, a tailored plan can be developed to reduce the risk of chronic diseases and improve longevity.
What are biomarkers and longevity markers?
A biomarker is any type of measurement of the body that can be performed objectively and consistently. This includes many different types of measurements, including blood tests as well as measurements of variables like blood pressure and heart rate.
A longevity marker is a specific type of biomarker that’s correlated to a person’s lifespan. Longevity markers are specific biomarkers that research has shown are associated with the likelihood of living a long life.
By measuring the levels of various longevity markers, we can determine how likely an individual is to develop diseases like heart disease and diabetes that can cause disability and death. This allows us to assess a person’s expected lifespan as well as their healthspan.
Which leads us to…
What is healthspan?
While many people are interested in living long lives, most don’t want to simply extend the number of years they spend in a state of disability and decline at the end of their lives. Instead, most people would like to have as many years of good health as possible. This includes good cognitive as well as physical health.
The number of years that a person lives in good health is known as their healthspan. This is different from lifespan, which is simply the number of years that a person is alive at all. The reduction of the number of years of disability is known as disability compression. While some period of decline at the end of life is very likely to occur for most people who live long lives, the period of health can be extended while the period of disability is shortened.
The goal of longevity medicine is to help you extend your healthspan. Using various tests, we can determine which conditions you’re most at risk for, helping you to take steps to protect your long-term health.
Which tests can be used to predict healthspan?
There are a huge number of potential tests that can be used to assess a person’s overall health status and their likely healthspan. Not every single test needs to be performed in all situations.
Blood tests generally require the orders of a doctor to be performed. In order to get longevity testing, you will need to have an appointment with a doctor first. After a discussion of your medical history and an exam, they’ll be able to determine which tests would be most useful for you. They’ll then write the orders for these tests.
Many longevity markers require a blood test. You’ll need to have your blood drawn for these tests, and you may need to be fasting when this occurs. You don’t have to fast before your appointment with the doctor – you can come back for the blood draw later. After your blood is drawn, it usually takes one to a few days for the tests to be performed and the results to become available.
These are some of the specific tests that our doctors often recommend for NOVI Health clients. Depending on your personal situation, you may not need all of these, and you may also need additional tests.
Lipid testing
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Singapore. In addition, heart disease often causes restrictions on a person’s ability to be physically active. Reducing your risk of heart disease is expected to improve both your lifespan and your healthspan. This is why blood tests that determine your heart disease risk are important.
Tests of various lipids and lipoproteins in your blood can help to determine your risk. This includes measuring your total cholesterol as well as specific types of cholesterol – HDL (“good” cholesterol, which reduces heart disease risk) as well as LDL (“bad” cholesterol, which increases the risk). Triglycerides, which are a type of fat found in the blood, are also tested, and higher levels are associated with increased risk.
Levels of apolipoproteins A1 and B have also been shown to be strongly associated with the risk of heart disease. Higher levels of apolipoprotein B and lower levels of apolipoprotein A1 are associated with increased risk.
Tests of metabolic health
Studies have found that aging is correlated with the development of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs). These are modified proteins and lipids that form when substances within the body are exposed to higher levels of glucose (sugar).
This strongly suggests that keeping blood sugar under control is an important component of healthy aging. Each time blood sugar rises, AGEs form.
As part of the aging process, insulin resistance gradually increases, although it does so at different rates for different individuals. Detecting insulin resistance is important, because it gives you a chance to adapt your lifestyle if necessary. By consuming fewer simple carbohydrates (sugars and starches), you can help to prevent your blood sugar from rising too high, even though you’re experiencing insulin resistance.
Testing your fasting blood sugar or hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) can allow the detection of diabetes or prediabetes. However, it doesn’t always reveal insulin resistance, particularly in the early stages. This is because the body can usually make extra insulin to compensate. Because of this compensation, insulin levels are generally higher in people who are experiencing insulin resistance.
Testing fasting insulin levels offers a way to detect insulin resistance, because insulin levels will generally be elevated in people who are insulin resistant. If fasting glucose levels are tested at the same time, then a calculation called HOMA-IR can be performed. If your insulin is higher than expected given your level of glucose, this indicates insulin resistance. If your fasting glucose level itself is elevated, this indicates that your body has begun to lose the ability to compensate for the insulin resistance, and you might be at risk for developing diabetes.
Nutrition Analysis
A healthy diet is known to be an important factor in determining both healthspan and lifespan. However, it’s not always easy to determine whether you’re getting all of the nutrients that you need through your food. As people age, their overall food consumption tends to decline, which makes it even harder to get enough of all of the necessary nutrients.
Some nutrient deficiencies don’t always cause obvious symptoms, so people may not realize that they’re experiencing a deficiency. For example, magnesium and zinc are two minerals that are both important in brain, nerve, and muscle function. Deficiencies of both minerals are relatively common, but are often overlooked. Testing a person’s magnesium and zinc levels allows them to increase their intake through food or supplements if needed.
Iron, vitamin B12, and folic acid are three nutrients that are important in the production of red blood cells. Without adequate levels of all three of these, people may develop anemia, or low red blood cell count. This reduces the delivery of oxygen to the tissues, which in turn affects their ability to function well and maintain themselves.
Anemia has been associated with reduced lifespan and healthspan, and red blood cell counts considered to be an important factor in the aging process. Testing of these nutrients can help to prevent or address anemia to improve longevity as well as quality of life.
Hormone testing
As people age, their levels of hormones tend to change. In women, levels of estrogen and progesterone drop dramatically with menopause. In men, levels of testosterone decline. Lower levels of these hormones are strongly associated with a variety of impacts on health, including reduced bone density, muscle mass and strength, and even skin thickness.
Will longevity testing help you live longer?
It’s very important to recognize that there is no test – or combination of tests – that can perfectly predict your future lifespan and healthspan. Although decades of research have revealed many different longevity markers, there is not a perfect and linear correlation between these markers and how many years a person will live.
While longevity testing can’t tell you exactly how long your life will be, it can help you to determine what changes in your lifestyle you may need to make in order to influence your lifespan and healthspan. Through this testing, you can discover what diseases you may be at an elevated risk for, and can take actions to decrease your risk. Repeating the testing periodically allows you to adjust your approach as necessary to work towards optimal health.
Experts believe that expanded access to testing is a major factor in the dramatic improvement in life expectancy in Singapore over the last decades. By ensuring that you get recommended testing for longevity markers on a regular basis, you can help to ensure that you live the longest – and healthiest – life possible.
Learn more about NOVI Assessment Max, our latest longevity and preventive health screening product designed to help users increase their healthspan.
It includes a comprehensive range of lab tests that go beyond a standard health screening package and includes over 80 biomarkers related to metabolic health, hormones, systemic nutrients, and longevity measures.
NOVI Assessment Max can detect both existing disease and early disease indicators including insulin resistance, prediabetes, cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Based on these test results, NOVI Assessment Max prioritizes actions to take and provides in-depth and personalized recommendations on how to optimize health and longevity.