Study of 1,068 Adults Finds Whole-Blood NAD Levels Do Not Decline With Healthy Aging but Track Cardiovascular Disease, Published in Nature Metabolism
Researchers at Vilnius University in Lithuania, publishing in Nature Metabolism, analysed whole-blood NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) levels in 1,068 adults, conducting 1,340 measurements using dried blood spot samples collected under standardised conditions, in a cohort including healthy individuals and people with chronic diseases. Among healthy adults, whole-blood NAD did not decline with age, remaining stable in men and showing a modest but statistically significant increase in women. NAD levels were lower in people with cardiovascular disease, with the clearest differences among those with hypertension.
Dr Dalius Ratautas, who led the research, said the prevailing narrative that NAD declines with age and therefore needs to be restored is not what happens in the blood of healthy adults. The researchers emphasise that the findings do not establish a cause-and-effect relationship between NAD levels and cardiovascular disease, and do not demonstrate that increasing NAD through supplementation can prevent or treat cardiovascular disease or hypertension. The paper, by Diana Romenskaja-Avgul and colleagues, has DOI 10.1038/s42255-026-01660-3.
Source: Nature Metabolism
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图中是立陶宛维尔纽斯大学图书馆内景。Wikimedia Commons — Scotch Mist, CC BY-SA 4.0
