Key points from article :
The first data-driven classification of multiple diseases obtained using human genetic and medical data from the UK Biobank.
"Understanding the molecular links between aging process and age-related diseases could allow them to be targeted with drugs to improve late-life health," - Linda Partridge, Study co-author.
"Diseases with a similar age of onset were genetically more similar to each other," - Partridge.
Data from the UK Biobank to investigate the genetic associations of 116 diseases.
Genetic links between diseases with the same onset profile suggesting a common cause.
The UK Biobank houses data from half a million UK participants and is openly available to researchers.
"If you really want to know about human aging you need access to human data," - Dame Janet Thornton, Co-lead researcher.
"These could potentially be targeted to prevent or treat groups of age-related diseases simultaneously," - Partridge.
Research by UCL and European Bioinformatics Institute published in Nature Aging.
