LUMC questions commercial DNA age tests
A peer-reviewed study shows that the difference between DNA age and calendar age does not simply measure the speed of ageing.
A research team from LUMC warns that commercial DNA age tests present their results too readily as a measure of how quickly someone is ageing. The study appeared in Genome Medicine and analysed thousands of blood samples and health outcomes.
Epigenetic clocks estimate DNA age based on chemical markers on DNA. These markers influence which genes are active. A result higher than calendar age is often explained in commercial tests as a sign of accelerated biological ageing.
The researchers analysed the composition of blood cells and examined how it relates to various epigenetic clocks. According to the publication, 4,058 samples were used to analyse DNA methylation age. The researchers also examined data from 18,859 people and 176 health outcomes.
The ratio between naïve and memory T cells was found to be strongly associated with estimated DNA age. This fits what is known about the ageing of the immune system: as people grow older, the proportion of naïve T cells generally decreases while the proportion of memory cells increases.
The picture was different for the difference between DNA age and calendar age. The researchers found that this difference was primarily associated with neutrophils, another type of immune cell that, according to the study, does not change with age in the same way. This suggests that the popular calculation of DNA age minus calendar age conflates several biological processes.
The study does not show that an individual test result is meaningless. However, the researchers conclude that commercial providers have insufficient grounds to present such a result as a precise personal measure of the speed of ageing. The analyses show associations; they do not prove that a single biological factor causes a health problem.
For consumers, this mainly means that an abnormal result is not a diagnosis and does not provide a reliable prediction of their own health. The researchers do see value in DNA methylation measurements, but believe it should first be established more clearly which biological processes they precisely reflect before they are used on an individual basis.
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The methods and main findings can be found in the peer-reviewed publication and are explained by LUMC. The text avoids individual medical conclusions and does not present associations as causes.
- confirmed The study appeared in Genome Medicine. — PubMed lists the journal and publication status. source
- confirmed The analysis used 4,058 blood samples and data from 18,859 people. — These figures appear in the PubMed abstract. source
- confirmed The ratio between naïve and memory T cells contributes strongly to DNA methylation age. — Described in the results of the abstract and the LUMC explanation. source
- confirmed The difference between DNA age and calendar age does not simply measure the speed of ageing. — This is the authors’ interpretation based on the cell compositions found; the text presents it as the study’s conclusion. source
Editor's note
The study is peer-reviewed and was published as an e-publication in Genome Medicine. The results concern associations at group level; they do not justify individual medical conclusions.Sources
- Blood cell composition reveals distinct biological interpretation of DNA methylation age and age acceleration — Genome Medicine / PubMed
- LUMC-onderzoek zet vraagtekens bij interpretatie van populaire verouderingstesten — Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum
More on this in Dutch media
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