AGE: Anesthesia Geriatric Evaluation

The AGE project, led by P.G. Noordzij, focuses on integrating biological age into perioperative risk assessment to improve decision-making in elderly surgical patients. Instead of relying solely on chronological age, the project uses a biomarker-based “AGE clock” derived from routinely collected laboratory parameters to estimate biological vulnerability.

In clinical practice, this approach is embedded in the preoperative pathway, particularly for older patients undergoing major surgery. When biological age exceeds chronological age by a clinically relevant margin, patients are flagged for additional frailty assessment within a multidisciplinary setting. The results inform shared decision-making, including the choice between surgery, prehabilitation, or alternative treatment strategies.

The overarching aim is to move toward more personalized, biology-driven perioperative care—improving risk stratification, aligning treatment with patient resilience, and ultimately reducing postoperative complications and functional decline.