Shahed University Immunoregulation 2588_5200 8 1 2025 01 01 An Index to Assess Integrative Health Status in Human Studies 4989 10.32598/Immunoregulation.8.18 EN Mohammad-Reza Vaez-Mahdavi Health Equity Research Center, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran. 0000-0002-1169-1703 Leila Nasiri Department of Health Equity, Immunoregulation Research Center, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran Journal Article 2025 11 15 <strong>Background</strong>: Conventional metrics for assessing biological aging, like allostatic load or telomere length, have limitations in providing a comprehensive picture, especially across diverse populations exposed to chronic stressors like sulfur mustard.<br /><strong>Materials and Methods</strong>: This study proposes a novel composite index the Biological Health Score (BHS)-to-telomere length ratio. It integrates a multisystem BHS (from non-invasive biomarkers) with leukocyte telomere length, applicable to various epidemiological studies.<br /><strong>Results</strong>: The composite ratio demonstrated greater explanatory power than its individual components. It more successfully predicted injury severity in sulfur mustard-exposed veterans and showed a stronger association with biological aging markers.<br /><strong>Conclusion</strong>: This feasible, integrative index is a promising tool for epidemiological and clinical research to identify individuals at risk of accelerated aging and health disorders resulting from chronic stress exposure. https://immunoreg.shahed.ac.ir/article_4989_702ebec69fb8a188478c788aa1df5fa6.pdf