What are biomarkers and how do they help?

Health Tests & Biomarkers: a partnership team

In Health testing, the word “biomarker” is very common, but what exactly what is a biomarker and how do they help when it comes to testing and checking your health?

What is a biomarker?

Biomarker is actually short for “biological marker” and it refers to a way of monitoring what is going on in the human body, and your cells, at any given moment. A biological marker, or biomarker, is a marker, a flag almost as to whether your body has the presence of a disease, it’s progress and/or the effects of treatment.

For example, when testing for Diabetes, the biomarker the test looks for is HbA1C. The health test will measure the levels of HbA1C in your blood, with a high level giving an indication whether you are diabetic, pre-diabetic, or not diabetic at all. The HbA1C biomarker is measurable and can tell what is going on within your body. By looking for specific biomarkers, monitoring and checking their levels, it is possible to determine whether you have certain health conditions or are at risk of them soon.

How does this help?

Biomarkers are measurable, and can go up, down and stay the same. They are a way of tracking how the body is operating and running at any point in time. Elevated or low levels of a particular biomarker can be an indication of certain health conditions or diseases, or the risk of developing a certain health disorder in the future.

Biomarkers are also easily accessible and can be found in a sample of your blood, urine or even saliva. Through health testing, your sample can be tested for specific biomarkers, with accurate results available quickly.


YourHealthTest compares Health Tests from the leading providers, for a wide range of conditions, diseases, and ailments, and gives the user the results in an easy-to-understand way, helping them to make an informed choice. You can choose the health test right for you, whether that’s the cheapest test, the one with the most biomarkers or the one that gets you a follow-up appointment with a private GP. Whatever your preferences, we’ll help you find the test that ticks all the boxes for you.