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

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.

Automated summary

As breakthroughs in healthspan and lifespan research become more common, the importance of valid and practical markers of biological age is increasingly emphasized. The accessibility and affordability of biological age predictors play a crucial role in revealing mortality and morbidity risk information and remaining years of life, with significant clinical and research implications. The unique capabilities of various aging biomarkers have far-reaching effects on interventions aimed at slowing or reversing biological aging.