Eleven Telomere, Epigenetic Clock, and Biomarker-Composite Quantifications of Biological Aging: Do They Measure the Same Thing?

Abstract

The geroscience hypothesis posits that therapies to slow biological processes of aging can prevent disease and extend healthy years of life. To test such "geroprotective" therapies in humans, outcome measures are needed that can assess extension of disease-free life span. This need has spurred development of different methods to quantify biological aging. But different methods have not been systematically compared in the same humans. We implemented 7 methods to quantify biological aging using repeated-measures physiological and genomic data in 964 middle-aged humans in the Dunedin Study (New Zealand; persons born 1972-1973). We studied 11 measures in total: telomere-length and erosion, 3 epigenetic-clocks and their ticking rates, and 3 biomarker-composites. Contrary to expectation, we found low agreement between different measures of biological aging. We next compared associations between biological aging measures and outcomes that geroprotective therapies seek to modify: physical functioning, cognitive decline, and subjective signs of aging, including aged facial appearance. The 71-cytosine-phosphate-guanine epigenetic clock and biomarker composites were consistently related to these aging-related outcomes. However, effect sizes were modest. Results suggested that various proposed approaches to quantifying biological aging may not measure the same aspects of the aging process. Further systematic evaluation and refinement of measures of biological aging is needed to furnish outcomes for geroprotector trials.

Association between allostatic load and health behaviours: a latent class approach

“…Although our sample did have rich biological data, we did not have inflammatory, oxidative stress or telomere markers. These markers have been used to measure physiological dysregulation in the past and have been shown to be sensitive markers of the physical effects of stress 33. Future research might also benefit from extending the definition of health behaviour variables beyond diet, exercise, smoking and alcohol use to include variables such as sleep quality, positive and negative affect and social support and isolation.…”

Age and Periodontal Health—Immunological View

“…Nevertheless there is clearly an array of systemic health conditions related to bacterial translocation through damaged periodontal tissues and the resulting chronic elevation in systemic inflammatory responses that leverage with other risk factors for general disease processes [41, 172]. Byerley et al [173] have described a serum profile that represents healthy aging, coupled with additional studies describing the concept of specific metabolic and genetic/epigenetic markers of biological age [174–177], and linked with previous descriptions of telomere shortening [161] and genes controlling the aging process [178]. Interestingly, Kim and Jazwinski [179] provided a recent report suggesting that the characteristics of the gut microbiome contribute directly to healthy or unhealthy aging, albeit similar exploration of existing data has not been provided related to the oral microbiome effects on these processes.…”

Internalizing Symptoms Associate with the Pace of Epigenetic Aging in Childhood

“…Longitudinal assessment of psychiatric symptoms, health and EAA are needed to disentangle possible underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, it will be important to integrate other measures of DNA methylation based or cellular aging (Belsky et al, 2017). For example, shortened leukocyte telomere length at age 38 was associated with the persistence of internalizing disorders from ages 11 to 38 years (Shalev et al, 2014).…”