“A unified metric of human immune health,” published by a distinguished group of scientists in Nature Medicine in July 2024 – including HIP Co-Chief Science Officer John Tsang – developed a new way to measure how healthy your immune system is, called the Immune Health Metric (IHM). By studying blood samples from over 200 patients with rare genetic immune diseases and comparing them to healthy people, researchers identified patterns that distinguish a well-functioning immune system from one that’s compromised. They analyzed genes, proteins, and immune cells to create a single score that effectively distinguishes healthy immune function from disease states.
The IHM successfully discriminates between healthy individuals and those with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases across multiple independent datasets. Notably, the metric tracks with aging in healthy people, monitors disease activity and treatment responses in both immune and non-immune conditions, and predicts vaccine response effectiveness. The IHM outperforms traditional inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, suggesting that diverse health conditions share common immune signatures.
This work demonstrates that deviations from immune health have measurable, shared characteristics across different diseases and even during normal aging. The researchers have made their tool publicly available through a web platform, potentially enabling more personalized approaches to medicine by providing a standardized way to assess immune system health.
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