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Predictors of Biological Age: The Implications for Wellness and Aging Research

Predictors of Biological Age: The Implications for Wellness and Aging Research

Authors :
Gurinder Bains
Trevor Lohman
Lee Berk
Everett Lohman
Source :
Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Vol 7 (2021), Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
SAGE Publications, 2021.

Abstract

As healthspan and lifespan research breakthroughs have become more commonplace, the need for valid, practical markers of biological age is becoming increasingly paramount. The accessibility and affordability of biological age predictors that can reveal information about mortality and morbidity risk, as well as remaining years of life, has profound clinical and research implications. In this review, we examine 5 groups of aging biomarkers capable of providing accurate biological age estimations. The unique capabilities of these biomarkers have far reaching implications for the testing of both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions designed to slow or reverse biological aging. Additionally, the enhanced validity and availability of these tools may have increasingly relevant clinical value. The authors of this review explore those implications, with an emphasis on lifestyle modification research, and provide an overview of the current evidence regarding 5 biological age predictor categories: Telomere length, composite biomarkers, DNA methylation “epigenetic clocks,” transcriptional predictors of biological age, and functional age predictors.

Details

ISSN :
23337214
Volume :
7
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....3ee6d04e77384caa324e268ea77364d4
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1177/23337214211046419