Fifty one human studies show which epigenetic clocks best track aging interventions
Researchers built TranslAGE, a harmonized database of 51 public and private longitudinal interventional studies, to test how well 16 epigenetic aging clocks and 94 DNA methylation biomarkers respond to pharmacological and lifestyle interventions. The study, published in Nature Medicine, found that clocks trained to predict mortality or pace of aging showed the strongest and most consistent responses. Study duration and population characteristics played a major role in determining how sensitive the biomarkers were to intervention. Clocks with multiple subscores provided more specificity and mechanistic insight than single-score clocks.
The findings can guide the design of future clinical trials by helping researchers choose which DNA methylation biomarkers to measure, potentially shortening study duration and reducing sample size requirements for testing aging interventions in humans.
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