Comparing Biological Age Estimates from Different Tissue Types
Author Information
Author(s): Apsley Abner, Shalev Idan
Primary Institution: The Pennsylvania State University
Hypothesis
Can epigenetic clocks provide accurate biological age estimates using mouth-based tissues compared to blood-based tissues?
Conclusion
Mouth-based tissue estimates of biological age can differ significantly from blood-based estimates, sometimes by over 30 years.
Supporting Evidence
- Significant differences in biological age estimates were observed between mouth-based and blood-based tissues.
- Some epigenetic clocks showed differences of more than 30 years when comparing mouth and blood samples.
- Most blood-based clocks had low correlation with buccal and saliva tissues.
Takeaway
This study shows that using saliva or mouth cells to estimate age can give very different results than using blood, which can be confusing.
Methodology
We tested the comparability of epigenetic clocks across five tissue types using 284 distinct samples.
Limitations
The study may not account for all variables affecting DNA methylation across different tissue types.
Participant Demographics
Individuals aged 9-70 years old.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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