As diabetes prevalence rises, particularly in younger age groups living longer with the disease, identifying patients at higher risk for complications has become increasingly important. A cohort study published in Diabetes Metabolism Research and Reviews found that higher biological age (BA) was associated with greater complication risk and earlier onset of complications in patients with diabetes.

The analysis used National Health Insurance Service-National Health Information Database (NHIS-NHID) data from 686,410 patients with diabetes who underwent health assessments in 2009 to 2010. Outcomes were tracked through 2020. A BA model was developed to reflect health and aging status, and corrected BA was then evaluated for its relationship with complication risk and timing of onset.

In both men and women, the incidence of all assessed complications increased significantly as corrected BA rose (p < 0.05). Likewise, the interval to onset of complications became significantly shorter with increasing corrected BA (p < 0.05), indicating that biologically older individuals developed complications sooner than those with lower BA.

This study was the first to apply the BA concept specifically to patients with diabetes to assess complication risk and timing. The findings suggest that maintaining a lower BA may be associated with fewer complications and delayed disease progression, supporting the role of overall health status in diabetes management.