What Labs Are Important for Longevity?

Most of what shortens healthspan is predictable

Cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, cancer, and neurodegeneration account for the overwhelming majority of decline in later decades. Each has a long asymptomatic runway, and three of the four have blood markers that begin drifting well before symptoms appear.

That is the entire premise of longevity-oriented testing: not to diagnose earlier, but to intervene while the trajectory is still easy to change.

Cardiovascular: ApoB and lipoprotein(a)

Atherosclerosis is driven by the number of ApoB-containing particles entering the artery wall, and by cumulative exposure over time. ApoB measures the particle count directly. Lipoprotein(a) identifies an inherited elevation in risk that a standard lipid panel cannot see and that needs measuring only once.

Metabolic: fasting insulin before A1C

Insulin resistance underlies a large share of cardiovascular disease, fatty liver, and several cancers, and it is present for years before glucose or A1C shift. Measuring fasting insulin alongside glucose allows HOMA-IR to be calculated and moves the detection window forward substantially.

Inflammation, thyroid, and nutrient status

• hs-CRP — chronic low-grade inflammation, an independent risk axis alongside lipids
• Homocysteine — vascular and methylation status, modifiable with B vitamins
• Full thyroid panel — metabolic rate, cognition, and cardiovascular function
• Vitamin D, B12, omega-3 index, magnesium — inputs with broad downstream effects
• Ferritin and iron studies — both deficiency and overload carry long-term consequences
• Liver and kidney markers, including eGFR and GGT — organ reserve over time

The trend matters more than any single result

A fasting insulin of 9 means one thing if it was 4 two years ago and something else entirely if it was 14. Longevity testing is most useful as a repeated measurement under consistent conditions — same fasting state, same time of day, same laboratory where possible.

You can't optimize what you haven't measured.

Frequently asked questions