Your upper chest could be the key to your long-term health. A new study found a correlation between the health of a human’s thymus and the likelihood of cardiovascular disease or cancer.
Published on Wednesday in the science journal Nature, researchers detailed the "crucial" effect of the thymus on long-term health and lifespan, reshaping prior assumptions about the organ.
"These findings reposition the thymus as a central regulator of immune‑ mediated aging and disease susceptibility in adulthood," the report states.
THYMUS HEALTH A KEY INDICATOR
Using AI tools, scientists analyzed more than 27,000 patient scans and medical records to evaluate thymus health. According to the journal, people with high thymic health had a mortality rate of 13.4 percent, compared with 25.5 percent among those with low thymic health.
The thymus, a two-lobed gland sitting in the upper chest between the lungs, is responsible for T-lymphocytes, white blood cells that protect the body against pathogens and diseases.