Are aging tests accurate?

US Experts say biological age calculations do not provide a complete picture of health and are not clinically meaningful.

Dr. Kara Fitzgerald, an expert on epigenetics and aging and author of the book Younger , explains that your biological age is how quickly you physically age, while your chronological age is the number of years you live. Your physical age is always increasing, but your biological age can be reduced through certain medical measures or healthy habits. For example, some people have a chronological age of 50, but are biologically 45.

To determine biological age, people buy test kits that cost hundreds of dollars and test samples of saliva, blood cells, blood, or urine. Researchers have also been able to determine the age of wild polar bears, elephants, zebras, horses, and more than 100 other non-human mammals using similar techniques.

All tests work by measuring chemical signatures in DNA. These signatures change over time, responding to environmental and biological influences, lifestyle or genetics. Essentially, they can measure how much and how quickly a person is aging. However, UCLA professor Steve Horvath says these tests are only indicative.

In 2011, Professor Horvath published pioneering research showing that it was possible to test chemicals in human saliva to monitor health status.

“At the time, it was a strange invention where you put saliva in a cup and measure biological age, but it was ignored by researchers,” he said.

More than a decade later, a slew of companies have invested in the field, promising to measure biological age through blood tests or saliva analysis.

“It’s great to see this come to fruition. However, there’s also the danger of something becoming so widespread before it’s scientifically perfected. That’s what worries me,” Horvath said.

Biological age measurements are not yet clinically meaningful. Photo: Freepik — Biological age measurements are not yet clinically meaningful. Photo: *Freepik*

In reality, biological age testing does not provide a complete picture of a person's health. Other indicators such as blood pressure, weight, cholesterol and blood sugar also affect biological age.

The GrimAge test, he says, is a more accurate predictor of longevity and mortality. The GrimAge test measures chemical changes in 1,030 different DNA letters to give a rough indication of the rate of aging. However, even GrimAge cannot be used as a measure of mortality.

Biological age tests typically calculate a person’s life expectancy at the time of measurement, meaning they’re only valid if the person doesn’t make any lifestyle changes in the future. Right now, the tests don’t have much clinical significance. But Horvath hopes that one day, doctors will be able to test a patient’s biological age and recommend drugs or interventions to improve life expectancy.

People who want to improve their health and live longer should focus on simple habits, based on previous scientific evidence, to slow the aging process, he said. He recommends quitting smoking, increasing green leafy vegetables, exercising, and adopting a lifestyle that reduces chronic inflammation.

He also encourages people to eat less sugar and chocolate and adopt a diet rich in nuts.

Thuc Linh (According to Insider )

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