TY - JOUR
T1 - There Are Multiple Clocks That Time Us
T2 - Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Associations Among 14 Alternative Indicators of Age and Aging
AU - Drewelies, Johanna
AU - Homann, Jan
AU - Vetter, Valentin Max
AU - Düzel, Sandra
AU - Kühn, Simone
AU - Deecke, Laura
AU - Steinhagen-Thiessen, Elisabeth
AU - Jawinski, Philippe
AU - Markett, Sebastian
AU - Lindenberger, Ulman
AU - Lill, Christina M.
AU - Bertram, Lars
AU - Demuth, Ilja
AU - Gerstorf, Denis
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Gerontological Society of America.
PY - 2025/6/1
Y1 - 2025/6/1
N2 - Aging is a complex process influenced by mechanisms operating at numerous levels of functioning. Multiple biomarkers of age have been identified, yet we know little about how the different alternative age indicators are intertwined. In the Berlin Aging Study II (nmin = 328; nmax = 1 517, women = 51%; 14.27 years of education), we examined how levels and 7-year changes in indicators derived from blood assays, magnetic resonance imaging brain scans, other-ratings, and self-reports converge among older adults. We included 8 epigenetic biomarkers (incl. 5 epigenetic “clocks”), a BioAge composite from clinical laboratory parameters, brain age, skin age, subjective age, subjective life expectancy, and subjective health horizon. We found moderate associations within aging domains, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally over 7 years. However, associations across different domains were infrequent and modest. Notably, participants with older BioAge had correspondingly older epigenetic ages. Our results suggest that different aging clocks are only loosely interconnected and that more specific measures are needed to differentiate healthy from unhealthy aging.
AB - Aging is a complex process influenced by mechanisms operating at numerous levels of functioning. Multiple biomarkers of age have been identified, yet we know little about how the different alternative age indicators are intertwined. In the Berlin Aging Study II (nmin = 328; nmax = 1 517, women = 51%; 14.27 years of education), we examined how levels and 7-year changes in indicators derived from blood assays, magnetic resonance imaging brain scans, other-ratings, and self-reports converge among older adults. We included 8 epigenetic biomarkers (incl. 5 epigenetic “clocks”), a BioAge composite from clinical laboratory parameters, brain age, skin age, subjective age, subjective life expectancy, and subjective health horizon. We found moderate associations within aging domains, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally over 7 years. However, associations across different domains were infrequent and modest. Notably, participants with older BioAge had correspondingly older epigenetic ages. Our results suggest that different aging clocks are only loosely interconnected and that more specific measures are needed to differentiate healthy from unhealthy aging.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105006732121
U2 - 10.1093/gerona/glae244
DO - 10.1093/gerona/glae244
M3 - Journal articles
C2 - 39383103
AN - SCOPUS:105006732121
SN - 1079-5006
VL - 80
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
IS - 6
M1 - glae244
ER -
