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Pace of human biological ageing can now be measured via blood test

Can aid future trials of therapies aiming at preventing diseases and slowing ageing

05-May-2020

Key points from article :

A study reports blood-DNA-methylation measure that detects variation in ageing pace.

The goal was to distill a measurement of the rate of biological ageing.

That is based on 12 years of follow-up on 18 different clinical tests into a blood test.

Midlife adults were measured to be ageing faster according to the new measurement.

Showed faster declines in physical, cognitive functioning, looked older in facial photographs.

Older adults measured to be ageing faster were at increased risk for chronic disease, mortality.

DunedinPoAm, their tool, captured new information not measured by epigenetic clocks.

Analyzed methylation marks on DNA from white blood cells.

A machine-learning technique called “elastic-net regression” was used.

It sifts through data on >400,000 different DNA methylation marks to analyze relationships.

Research by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and other co-author institutions.

Published in e-Life.

Mentioned in this article:

Click on resource name for more details.

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Public health graduate school of Columbia University

Daniel Belsky

Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

Duke University

Private research university in Durham, North Carolina

DunedinPoAm

DNA methylation algorithm

eLife Sciences

Non-profit journal publishing work in all areas of biology and medicine

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Education of new generations of global health leaders.

King's College London

Public research university

University of Copenhagen

Public research university

University of Exeter

UK university and member of the Russell Group of leading research-intensive UK universities

University of Otago

Public Research university.

Topics mentioned on this page:
Biological Age, Epigenetics