Methodology

Intro

Laive Health is an information tool for interpreting UK bloodwork. You enter lab values by hand. The app compares each value against a goal-specific optimum and returns a score.

A score is a snapshot. It reflects the markers you entered, the date you entered, and the goals attached to each cluster.

This page is written to be checked. Every rule below describes how the number on screen is produced.

The Score

Each marker is scored from 0 to 100. A value inside the optimum scores 100.

A value outside the optimum decays in a straight line. The decay reaches 0 at a point one range-width past the edge of the optimum. A range-width is the distance between the lower and upper bounds of the optimum.

Some markers are one-sided. They have a single bound. A one-sided marker scores 100 anywhere inside the bound. Past the bound it decays in the same linear way.

Cluster Scores

A cluster score is a tier-weighted average of the markers you entered. Tier 1 counts four times. Tier 2 counts twice. Tier 3 counts once.

Blank markers are excluded from the average. A blank is not a penalty. If you enter no markers for a cluster, that cluster has no score.

Evidence Tiers

Every marker sits in one of three evidence tiers. The tier reflects how strong and consistent the evidence is for that marker as a goal-relevant signal.

• Tier 1x 4

  Strong, consistent evidence linking the marker to the cluster outcome. Counts most toward the score.

• Tier 2x 2

  Supportive evidence with smaller effect sizes or narrower context. Counts moderately.

• Tier 3x 1

  Suggestive or contested evidence. Counts least and is flagged where weak.

There are 35 Tier 1 markers in the current version.

Confidence

A cluster score also carries a confidence label. Confidence depends on how many of the Tier 1 markers in that cluster you have entered.

• Provisional

  Fewer than one third of the cluster's Tier 1 markers are entered.

• Indicative

  Between one third and two thirds of the cluster's Tier 1 markers are entered.

• Solid

  More than two thirds of the cluster's Tier 1 markers are entered.

A low-confidence score is still a score. It is built from fewer inputs, so treat it as a partial view.

Goal-Specific Optima

Most optima are universal. The same target applies regardless of which cluster the marker appears in.

Six markers use cluster-specific optima: Ferritin, Transferrin Saturation, Total Testosterone in men, IGF-1, Omega-3 Index, Active B12.

A cluster-specific optimum exists because the goal-relevant target for that marker differs by goal. The figure you see is the target for the cluster you are viewing.

NHS Reference Ranges Versus Laive Health

Where an NHS reference range is available, Laive Health shows it alongside the optimum. These two numbers answer different questions.

An NHS reference range describes the population. It shows where most people fall. It is the basis a clinician uses to decide whether a result is abnormal.

An optimum is goal-oriented. It reflects evidence on where a marker sits for a specific outcome, such as longer healthspan or better cognition.

A value can be inside the NHS range and still sit outside an optimum. That is expected. It is the difference between normal and goal-aligned. Neither figure is a clinical instruction.

Some markers need a unit conversion before scoring. This applies to HbA1c, glucose, LDL, creatinine, bilirubin. Laive Health handles the conversion. Enter values in the units shown on your lab report.

Blood Limits

Blood is a strong substrate for some goals and a weak one for others.

Blood explains a great deal for Live Longer and Think Sharper.

Blood explains less for Move Freely and Look Better. For those goals, non-blood predictors often matter more. Grip strength, VO2 max, body composition, and sleep are stronger signals for movement and appearance than most blood markers.

Where blood is a weak substrate, Laive Health signposts the better predictors. Read a Move Freely or Look Better score as one input among several, not as the headline.