• Epidemiologists develop advanced state-o

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Tue Jan 18 21:30:40 2022
    Epidemiologists develop advanced state-of-the-art tool for measuring the
    pace of aging
    DunedinPACE reveals wide range of population aging rates and can predict future disease and mortality

    Date:
    January 18, 2022
    Source:
    Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
    Summary:
    Researchers developed a new blood test to measure the pace of
    biological aging. Based on an analysis of chemical tags on the
    DNA contained in white blood cells, called DNA methylation marks,
    the new test is named DunedinPACE (Pace of Aging Computed from the
    Epigenome). DunedinPACE is a new addition to a fast-growing list
    of DNA methylation tests designed to measure aging and contributes
    value-added over and above the current state of the art.



    FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health have developed a new blood test to measure the pace of biological aging. Based
    on an analysis of chemical tags on the DNA contained in white blood
    cells, called DNA methylation marks, the new test is named DunedinPACE,
    after the Dunedin Birth Cohort used to develop it. DunedinPACE (stands
    for Pace of Aging Computed from the Epigenome) is a new addition to a fast-growing list of DNA methylation tests designed to measure aging and contributes value-added over and above the current state of the art. The findings are published online in the journal e- Life.


    ========================================================================== "What makes DunedinPACE unique is that, whereas other tests aim to measure
    how old or young a person is, DunedinPACE measures whether you are aging quickly or slowly," said Daniel Belsky, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School and a researcher at the Columbia
    Aging Center. This design could make DunedinPACE more a more sensitive
    tool to detect effects of interventions that aim to slow aging or of
    exposures that accelerate aging processes. "Whereas other measures of
    aging are designed to capture all aging- related change accumulated
    across the life course, our measure is focused on changes occurring
    over the recent past," explained Belsky. "What is striking is that, even
    with this more restricted focus, DunedinPACE is equally precise as the
    best of the currently available tests in predicting disease, disability,
    and mortality in the future, and it adds value to risk assessments over
    and above these measures." Developed by Belsky and colleagues at Duke University and the University of Otago, DunedinPACE tracks changes in
    19 biomarkers of organ-system integrity in the 1000-member Dunedin Study
    birth cohort, who were first enrolled in the study at birth in 1972-1973
    and have been followed up ever since, most recently at the time of their
    45th birthday. This study used data collected from the participants when
    they were all aged 26, 32, 38, and 45 years.

    The use a single-year birth cohort to develop the measure ensures
    DunedinPACE is not contaminated by biases that may affect studies that
    compare older to younger people, including survival bias, historical differences in exposure.

    The analysis of changes that occurred within Study members' bodies
    as they aged over the 20-year follow-up also ensures that DunedinPACE
    measures aging-related changes occurring during adult life.

    In addition to the Dunedin Study, the researchers also used data from the Understanding Society Study, the Normative Aging Study, the Framingham
    Heart Study, and the Environmental Risk (E- Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study.

    In the current analysis, midlife and older adults with faster DunedinPACE
    were at increased risk for incident chronic disease, disability, and
    mortality; across the lifespan, DunedinPACE was correlated with measures
    of biological age derived from blood chemistry and DNA methylation data,
    and with research participants' subjective perceptions of their own
    health. It also indicated faster Pace of Aging in young adults with
    histories of exposure to poverty and victimization.

    "In sum, DunedinPACE represents a novel measure of aging that can
    complement existing DNA methylation measures of aging to help advance
    the frontiers of geroscience," noted Belsky, who is also with the Robert
    N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, Columbia Mailman School.

    The current analysis establishes DunedinPACE as a novel single-time-point measure that quantifies Pace of Aging with whole blood samples, that
    can be readily implemented in most DNA methylation datasets, making it immediately available for testing in a wide range of existing datasets
    as a complement to existing methylation measures of aging.

    "There is growing interest in technologies to measure a biological age,
    defined as how much older or younger a person is biologically than their birthdate would predict. Our study reveals that it is also possible to
    measure Pace of Aging, or how fast a person's body is declining. Together, these measurements can help us understand the factors that drive
    accelerated aging in at-risk populations and identify interventions that
    can slow aging to build aging health equity." Co-authors are A Caspi,
    TE Moffitt, King's College, UK and Duke University; K Sugden, K Chamarti,
    HL Harrington, R Houts, B Williams, Duke University; R Poulton, University
    of Otago, NZ; L Arseneault, King's College, UK; A.

    Baccarelli, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health; X Gao,
    Peking University; E Hannon, J Mill, University of Exeter, UK; M Kothari,
    D Kwon, Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, Columbia Mailman School
    of Public Health; J Schwartz, C Wang, Harvard TH Chan School of Public
    Health; and P Vokonas, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Boston University School of Medicine The research was supported by National
    Institute on Aging (grants AG032282,AG061378,AG066887); Medical Research Council (grant P005918).

    ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Columbia_University's_Mailman_School_of_Public_Health.

    Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. Daniel W Belsky, Avshalom Caspi, David L Corcoran, Karen Sugden,
    Richie
    Poulton, Louise Arseneault, Andrea Baccarelli, Kartik Chamarti,
    Xu Gao, Eilis Hannon, Hona Lee Harrington, Renate Houts, Meeraj
    Kothari, Dayoon Kwon, Jonathan Mill, Joel Schwartz, Pantel Vokonas,
    Cuicui Wang, Benjamin S Williams, Terrie E Moffitt. DunedinPACE,
    a DNA methylation biomarker of the pace of aging. eLife, 2022;
    11 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.73420 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220118103713.htm

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