Home › Research › Prevention and risk
Longitudinal plasma metabolomics of aging and sex
Darst BF, Koscik RL, Hogan KJ, Johnson SC, Engelman CD.. Aging, 2019-02-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Understanding how metabolites are longitudinally influenced by age and sex could facilitate the identification of metabolomic profiles and trajectories that indicate disease risk. We investigated the metabolomics of age and sex using longitudinal plasma samples from the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention (WRAP), a cohort of participants who were dementia free at enrollment. Metabolomic profiles were quantified for 2,344 fasting plasma samples among 1,212 participants, each with up to three study visits. Of 1,097 metabolites tested, 623 (56.8%) were associated with age and 695 (63.4%) with sex after correcting for multiple testing. Approximately twice as many metabolites were associated with age in stratified analyses of women versus men, and 68 metabolite trajectories significantly differed by sex, most notably including sphingolipids, which tended to increase in women and decrease in men with age. Using genome-wide genotyping, we also report the heritabilities of metabolites investigated, which ranged dramatically (0.2-99.2%); however, the median heritability of 36.2% suggests that many metabolites are highly influenced by a complex combination of genomic and environmental influences. These findings offer a more profound description of the aging process and may inform many new hypotheses regarding the role metabolites play in healthy and accelerated aging.
Key findings
- Of 1,097 metabolites tested, 623 (56.8%) were associated with age and 695 (63.4%) with sex after correcting for multiple testing.
- Approximately twice as many metabolites were associated with age in stratified analyses of women versus men, and 68 metabolite trajectories significantly differed by sex, most notably including sphingolipids, which tended to increase in women and decrease in men with age.
- Using genome-wide genotyping, we also report the heritabilities of metabolites investigated, which ranged dramatically (0.2-99.2%); however, the median heritability of 36.2% suggests that many metabolites are highly influenced by a complex combination of genomic and environmental influences.
- These findings offer a more profound description of the aging process and may inform many new hypotheses regarding the role metabolites play in healthy and accelerated aging.
Why it matters
This study describes how metabolites in plasma change with age and sex in a dementia-free cohort, and reports heritability estimates for metabolites. It does not test or report any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Prevention →
Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants1,212
- Effect size56.8%; 63.4%; 99.2%
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 65/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Aging) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Aging: journal h-index 162 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2019 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 1,212 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 200 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 22.2 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 72 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Corinne D. Engelman: h-index 40 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Wisconsin–Madison: institution h-index 1,518 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30799310) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 65 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.18632/aging.101837
- PubMed: 30799310
- Original source →
- Free full text: bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Darst, B. F., Koscik, R. L., Hogan, K. J., Johnson, S. C., & Engelman, C. D. (2019). Longitudinal plasma metabolomics of aging and sex. Aging. https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.101837
Vancouver
Darst BF, Koscik RL, Hogan KJ, Johnson SC, Engelman CD. Longitudinal plasma metabolomics of aging and sex. Aging. 2019. doi:10.18632/aging.101837. PMID: 30799310.
BibTeX
@article{darst2019-30799310,
author = {Darst, B. F. and Koscik, R. L. and Hogan, K. J. and Johnson, S. C. and Engelman, C. D.},
title = {{Longitudinal plasma metabolomics of aging and sex}},
journal = {Aging},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.18632/aging.101837},
pmid = {30799310},
url = {https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.101837}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Later studies that cite this one
3 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.