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Epigenetic clock

There are 790 papers on epigenetic clock in aging research: 13 trials and 307 observational studies in people, 81 in animals, 19 in cells, 268 reviews. The newest story, Oct 30, 2026: “DNA-end correction linked to better cell-free DNA profiling”.

Biomarker

790 papers study it876 more mention it232 findings

43 new papers in 30 daysSee all 1,666 papers on epigenetic clock

At a glance

Epigenetic clocks are associated with mortality in human cohorts; a mouse study reports lifespan prediction from liver measurements in female BXD mice. Human health associations vary by clock generation, and a computational comparison yields divergent age estimates from blood-trained clocks. An eight-week human trial reports no clock change with methionine restriction; a mouse study also reports no effect.

232 findings in 191 papers from 2015 to 2026, 33 of them since April 2026

“epigenetic aging clocks showed clock-specific and time-dependent responses, with substantial inter-individual variability.”
Effects of long-term fasting: longitudinal epigenetic responses in humansbioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)2026doi:10.64898/2026.06.12.731903
  • Human trial13
  • Humans307
  • Animals76
  • Model organisms5
  • Cells19
  • In silico88

Interventions

26

Partial reprogramming

downin mice2downin reviews1

3 studies

  1. Partial reprogramming decreases epigenetic clock.

    “partial reprogramming, which rewinds the clock directly, shows that the clock is simultaneously the readout and the therapeutic target”

    Review

    Aging Biology of Bone-to-Tendon Healing and the Epigenetic Clock: A Biological-Age Readout of Rotator Cuff Healing Capacity

    Biomedicines

  2. Partial reprogramming decreases epigenetic clock in ERCC1-mutant mice, combined with small molecules.

    “restoration of the epigenetic clock”

    Animalsin ERCC1-mutant mice, combined with small moleculescombined with small molecules

    Initiation phase cellular reprogramming ameliorates DNA damage in the ERCC1 mouse model of premature aging

    Frontiers in aging

  3. Partial reprogramming decreases epigenetic clock in mice (long-term partial reprogramming regimens).

    “The rejuvenating effects were associated with a reversion of the epigenetic clock”

    Animalslong-term partial reprogramming regimens

    In vivo partial reprogramming alters age-associated molecular changes during physiological aging in mice

    Nature aging

More on Partial reprogramming

Methionine restriction

no changein humans2no changein mice2

2 studies

  1. Methionine restriction showed no clear effect on epigenetic clock in humans.

    “an 8-week MetR intervention in a human trial (NCT04701346) showed no significant impact on epigenetic clocks.”

    Human trial8-week

    Dietary methionine restriction started late in life promotes healthy aging in a sex-specific manner

    Science advances

  2. Methionine restriction showed no clear effect on epigenetic clock in humans.

    “did not reveal a significant MetR-dependent effect on the epigenetic clocks.”

    Human trial8-week

    DIETARY METHIONINE RESTRICTION STARTED LATE IN LIFE IMPROVES NEUROMUSCULAR FUNCTION AND PROMOTES HEALTHY AGING

    GSA 2024 abstract

  3. Methionine restriction showed no clear effect on epigenetic clock in mice.

    “MetR did not significantly affect mouse aging epigenetic clock markers.”

    Animals

    Dietary methionine restriction started late in life promotes healthy aging in a sex-specific manner

    Science advances

  4. Methionine restriction showed no clear effect on epigenetic clock in mice.

    “Surprisingly, dietary MetR did not significantly affect the mouse epigenetic clock.”

    Animals

    DIETARY METHIONINE RESTRICTION STARTED LATE IN LIFE IMPROVES NEUROMUSCULAR FUNCTION AND PROMOTES HEALTHY AGING

    GSA 2024 abstract

More on Methionine restriction

Exercise

no changein humans1downin reviews1

2 studies

  1. Exercise showed no clear effect on epigenetic clock in humans.

    “Vitamin D supplementation and SHEP were not associated with changes in any of the clocks.”

    Human trial3 yearsn = 777

    Individual and additive effects of vitamin D, omega-3 and exercise on DNA methylation clocks of biological aging in older adults from the DO-HEALTH trial

    Nature aging

  2. Exercise decreases epigenetic clock.

    “physical exercise (PE) can affect the DNAm level, implying a reversal of the epigenetic clock in neurodegeneration.”

    Review

    Roles of physical exercise in neurodegeneration: reversal of epigenetic clock

    Translational neurodegeneration

More on Exercise

S-adenosylmethionine

no changein humans1

1 study

  1. S-adenosylmethionine showed no clear effect on epigenetic clock in humans (Horvath β = 0.66, p = 0.56).

    “Linear regression analysis demonstrated that pre-treatment epigenetic age was a significant predictor of post-treatment epigenetic age, as was expected (p < 0.01 for all clocks), without a significant effect of SAMe on post-treatment epigenetic age (Horvath β = 0.66, p = 0.56; Hannum β = 1.40, p = 0.32; PhenoAge β = 1.22, p = 0.44; GrimAge β = −0.02, p = 0.97; DunedinPACE β = −0.00, p = 0.91; see Supplementary Table S6”

    Human trial12-weekn = 28

    S-adenosylmethionine as an epigenetic treatment of depression in adults with childhood trauma

    Epigenomics

  2. S-adenosylmethionine showed no clear effect on epigenetic clock in humans.

    “Epigenetic clock analyses showed no consistent treatment-related changes”

    Human trial1200 mg12 weeks

    S-adenosylmethionine as an epigenetic treatment of depression in adults with childhood trauma

    Epigenomics

More on S-adenosylmethionine

Early-life stress

upin T. guttata1

1 study

  1. Early-life stress increases epigenetic clock in T. guttata.

    “experimental lifespan-reducing early-life stress rapidly accelerates epigenetic age in zebra finch chicks (Taeniopygia guttata)”

    Animals

    Early life stress accelerates epigenetic aging in zebra finches

    bioRxivPreprint

More on Early-life stress

Diet

downin humans1

1 study

  1. Diet is linked with lower epigenetic clock in two population-based cohorts.

    “Adherence to a healthy dietary pattern is associated with reduced epigenetic aging, although associations differed in magnitude across diet quality scores.”

    Humansin two population-based cohorts

    Associations between diet quality, epigenetic aging and epigenome in two population-based cohorts

    Nature communications

More on Diet

Digital technology immersion

upin humans1

1 study

  1. Digital technology immersion increases epigenetic clock in humans (+7.3 years).

    “Epigenetic clock analyses indicate that digitally saturated individuals exhibit biological ages averaging 7.3 years above chronological age.”

    Review

    The Substrate Collapse: Hemispheric Decoherence, Mirror Neuron Atrophy, and the Emerging 40–50 Mortality Horizon

    Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)Preprint

More on Digital technology immersion

Emtricitabine + tenofovir disoproxil fumarate

no changein humans1

1 study

  1. Emtricitabine + tenofovir disoproxil fumarate showed no clear effect on epigenetic clock in humans (FTC/TDF study arm).

    “the FTC/TDF study (N=43) showed no significant changes across epigenetic clocks and proxies”

    Human trialFTC/TDF study arm200 mg/300 mg12 weeksn = 43

    An FDA-Approved Tenofovir Alafenamide-Based Antiretroviral Therapy Reduces Biological Age in Healthy Adults: First Human Proof-of-Concept for Retrotransposon-Targeted Gerotherapeutics

    medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciencesPreprint

More on Emtricitabine + tenofovir disoproxil fumarate

Calcium channel blockers

downin humans1

1 study

  1. Calcium channel blockers are linked with lower epigenetic clock in Swedish twin cohort (about a two‐year decrease).

    “use of calcium channel blockers (CCBs) was associated with about a two‐year decrease in multiple epigenetic clocks (DNA methylation ages) and functional aging.”

    Humansin Swedish twin cohortn = 672

    Repurposing of aging‐preventive pharmaceuticals to delay Alzheimer's disease progression.

    AAIC 2025 abstract

More on Calcium channel blockers

Social bond strength

downin T. truncatus1

1 study

  1. Social bond strength decreases epigenetic clock in T. truncatus.

    “Social bonds decrease epigenetic age in male bottlenose dolphins”

    Animalsmales

    Social bonds decrease epigenetic age in male bottlenose dolphins

    Communications biology

More on Social bond strength

Therapeutic plasma exchange

downin humans1

1 study

  1. Therapeutic plasma exchange decreases epigenetic clock in humans (compared with placebo) (15 epigenetic clocks showing rejuvenation).

    “15 epigenetic clocks showing rejuvenation compared to placebo (FDR < 0.05)”

    Human trialcompared with placebo

    Multi-Omics Analysis Reveals Biomarkers That Contribute to Biological Age Rejuvenation in Response to Single-Blinded Randomized Placebo-Controlled Therapeutic Plasma Exchange

    Aging cell

More on Therapeutic plasma exchange

Vitamin D

no changein humans1

1 study

  1. Vitamin D showed no clear effect on epigenetic clock in humans.

    “Vitamin D supplementation and SHEP were not associated with changes in any of the clocks.”

    Human trial3 yearsn = 777

    Individual and additive effects of vitamin D, omega-3 and exercise on DNA methylation clocks of biological aging in older adults from the DO-HEALTH trial

    Nature aging

More on Vitamin D

Metformin

no changein humans1

1 study

  1. Metformin showed no clear effect on epigenetic clock in humans (single-arm adjunctive metformin trial).

    “revealed no significant differences across all epigenetic clocks assessed in CD8+ T cells at 4- and 8-week time points”

    Human trialsingle-arm adjunctive metformin trialCD8+ T cells4 and 8 weeksn = 8

    Cell-type specific impact of metformin on monocyte epigenetic age reversal in virally suppressed older people living with HIV

    Aging cell

More on Metformin

All 26

Effects

19

Lifespan

no changein humans1no changein silico1

2 studies

  1. Epigenetic clock was not clearly linked with lifespan in ALS patients.

    “None of the epigenetic age acceleration scores contributed to survival.”

    Humansin ALS patients

    Dissecting epigenetic age acceleration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

    Epigenomics

  2. Epigenetic clock showed no clear effect on lifespan in silico.

    “Associations of epigenetic clocks with lifespan and survival were null in both men and women.”

    In silico

    Biological aging and lifespan in men and women using a Mendelian randomization study

    Human genomics

Cognitive healthspan

no changein humans1

1 study

  1. Epigenetic clock was not clearly linked with cognitive healthspan in humans.

    “None of the clocks was more strongly associated with survival to age 90 with preserved cognition than with survival to age 90 with cognitive impairment”

    Humanssurvival to age 90 with preserved cognition vs with cognitive impairment, each relative to death before age 90females

    Epigenetic clocks of biological aging and cognitively healthy longevity: the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study

    The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences

Discrimination

no changein humans1

1 study

  1. Epigenetic clock was not clearly linked with discrimination in humans (without baseline cardiovascular disease) (C range, 0.66-0.73 vs 0.74; C range, 0.71-0.77 vs 0.78).

    “Biologic PREVENT variants were associated with mortality but did not improve discrimination compared with chronologic PREVENT”

    Humanswithout baseline cardiovascular diseasen = 1,516

    Assessing Differences Between Epigenetic versus Chronologic Age for Cardiovascular Risk Assessments in the United States

    Circulation. Population health and outcomes

Predictive accuracy

upin silico1

1 study

  1. Epigenetic clock improves predictive accuracy in silico (MAE 3.240 and 3.267 years).

    “Among the models tested, rLasso and SVR delivered the best and comparable predictive accuracy, with MAEs of 3.240 and 3.267 years, respectively, which were significantly better than the other linear models.”

    In silicosalivan = 76

    Development of a precise saliva-based epigenetic clock using a six-CpG-marker panel

    International journal of legal medicine

SPARE-BA brain age acceleration

no changein humans1

1 study

  1. Epigenetic clock was not clearly linked with SPARE-BA brain age acceleration in humans.

    “we observed no associations between any epigenetic clock and accelerated brain aging based on SPARE-BA.”

    Humansbrainfemalesn = 1,196

    Association of epigenetic age acceleration with MRI biomarkers of aging and Alzheimer's disease neurodegeneration

    Aging

More on SPARE-BA brain age acceleration

Age-at-death estimation

no changein silico1

1 study

  1. Epigenetic clock showed no clear effect on age-at-death estimation in silico (reconstructed ancient human methylomes).

    “neither direct clock application nor regression-based retraining produced reliable continuous age-at-death estimates”

    In silicoreconstructed ancient human methylomes

    Promises and limitations of current ancient human epigenetic clocks

    bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)Preprint

SPARE-BA

no changein humans1

1 study

  1. Epigenetic clock was not clearly linked with SPARE-BA in humans (adjusted linear regression).

    “we observed no associations between any epigenetic clock and accelerated brain aging based on SPARE-BA.”

    Humansadjusted linear regressionbrainfemales

    Association of epigenetic age acceleration with MRI biomarkers of aging and Alzheimer's disease neurodegeneration

    medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciencesPreprint

More on SPARE-BA

Classification accuracy

upin humans1

1 study

  1. Epigenetic clock is linked with higher classification accuracy in humans (>1%).

    “for 32 of the 176 findings, adding the clock to a null classification model with traditional risk factors significantly increases the classification accuracy by >1%.”

    Humans10-yearsn = 18,859

    An unbiased comparison of 14 epigenetic clocks in relation to 174 incident disease outcomes

    Nature communications

Clinical utility

downin humans1

1 study

  1. Epigenetic clock impairs clinical utility in humans.

    “We show that clocks fail to meet common standards for clinical utility compared with established biomarkers”

    Review

    From population science to the clinic? Limits of epigenetic clocks as personal biomarkers

    Epigenomics

Injury

no changein humans1

1 study

  1. Epigenetic clock was not clearly linked with injury in elite soccer players.

    “We also estimated epigenetic age using eight clocks but found no association with injuries.”

    Humansin elite soccer playersperipheral bloodn = 74

    Epigenetic signatures, age acceleration, and injury risk in elite female and male soccer players

    Scientific reports

More on Injury

All 19

Upstream

15

Corticosterone

upin T. guttata1

1 study

  1. Corticosterone increases epigenetic clock in T. guttata.

    “Corticosterone-treated 29-day-old chicks share differentially methylated loci with non-treated aged birds and cluster with 6-month-old birds.”

    Animals

    Early life stress accelerates epigenetic aging in zebra finches

    bioRxivPreprint

More on Corticosterone

Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing

upin silico1

1 study

  1. Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing improves epigenetic clock in silico.

    “Our findings highlight the power of long-read methylation data for constructing accurate, ancestry-aware aging clocks”

    In silicobrain

    Long-Read epigenetic clocks identify improved brain aging predictions

    bioRxiv : the preprint server for biologyPreprint

5-hydroxymethylcytosine

mediatesin silico1

1 study

  1. 5-hydroxymethylcytosine mediates epigenetic clock in silico (ternary-code DNA methylation profiling with MSA).

    “revealed a previously unappreciated role of 5hmC in mediating human trait associations and epigenetic clocks”

    In silicoternary-code DNA methylation profiling with MSA

    Scalable screening of ternary-code DNA methylation dynamics associated with human traits

    Cell genomics

More on 5-hydroxymethylcytosine

Cardiorespiratory fitness

no changein rats1

1 study

  1. Cardiorespiratory fitness showed no clear effect on epigenetic clock in rats across all four organs.

    “Epigenetic clocks, trained on available rat blood-derived reduced representation bisulfite sequencing data, did not reflect differences in CRF between LCR and HCR rats across all four organs.”

    Animalsacross all four organs

    Organ Specificity and Commonality of Epigenetic Aging in Low- and High-Running Capacity Rats

    Aging cell

Breed size

upin dogs1

1 study

  1. Breed size increases epigenetic clock in dogs (0.37 years older per chronological year).

    “largest breed size tends to have epigenomes that are, on average, 0.37 years older per chronological year compared to the smallest breed size”

    Animalsn = 864

    Aging at scale: Younger dogs and larger breeds from the Dog Aging Project show accelerated epigenetic aging

    bioRxiv : the preprint server for biologyPreprint

Aortic valve stenosis

no changein humans1

1 study

  1. Aortic valve stenosis was not clearly linked with epigenetic clock in humans (reverse Mendelian randomization).

    “However, there was a lack of evidence supporting a causal link from AVS to epigenetic aging.”

    Humansreverse Mendelian randomization

    Epigenetic age acceleration and risk of aortic valve stenosis: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study

    Clinical epigenetics

More on Aortic valve stenosis

Body mass index

mediatesin humans1

1 study

  1. Body mass index is linked with epigenetic clock in humans.

    “BMI, AFB and AFS played mediator roles in the path from women's fertility and sexual development traits to epigenetic aging.”

    Humansfemales

    Effect of women's fertility and sexual development on epigenetic clock: Mendelian randomization study

    Clinical epigenetics

Bipolar disorder

upin humans1

1 study

  1. Bipolar disorder is linked with higher epigenetic clock in humans (compared to chronological age).

    “We observed a significant increase in epigenetic age compared to chronological age in the BD group.”

    Humanscompared to chronological age

    Epigenetic age dysregulation in individuals with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia

    Psychiatry research

More on Bipolar disorder

Body weight

upin animals1

1 study

  1. Body weight increases epigenetic clock.

    “several factors moderate the relationship between epigenetic ages and real ages, such as body weight, which increases epigenetic ageing.”

    Animalsn = 217

    The effects of age, sex, weight, and breed on canid methylomes

    Epigenetics

Breast cancer

no changein humans1

1 study

  1. Breast cancer was not clearly linked with epigenetic clock in humans (cases vs controls).

    “We observed no difference in cases vs. controls and no correlation between matched tissue/blood samples, suggesting that peripheral blood is not a good surrogate marker for epigenetic age acceleration.”

    Humanscases vs controlsperipheral blood

    Evidence of accelerated epigenetic aging of breast tissues in patients with breast cancer is driven by CpGs associated with polycomb-related genes

    Clinical epigenetics

More on Breast cancer

All 15

Associations

95

Chronological age

upin humans12upin silico2upin reviews2upin Acanthaster cf. solaris1+10

27 studies

  1. Epigenetic clock is associated with chronological age in humans (heart failure).

    “All epigenetic clocks demonstrated moderate to strong correlations with chronological age.”

    Humansheart failureperipheral blood

    Epigenetic age acceleration is not strongly associated with cardiorespiratory fitness in heart failure: a pilot study

    Epigenomics

  2. Epigenetic clock is associated with chronological age in humans (derived from saliva) (r = .71 to r = .94).

    “Epigenetic clocks derived from saliva were highly correlated with chronological age ( r = .71 to r = .94)”

    Humansderived from salivasaliva

    (Epi-)Genomic Data in the German TwinLife Study: TwinSNPs and TECS Cohort Profiles

    bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)Preprint

  3. Epigenetic clock is associated with chronological age in humans (Hannum, Horvath and DNAmPhenoAge clocks) (strong correlation, no coefficient given).

    “all three epigenetic clocks were strongly correlated with chronological age.”

    HumansHannum, Horvath and DNAmPhenoAge clocksperipheral bloodn = 32

    Effect of metformin on the epigenetic age of peripheral blood in patients with diabetes mellitus

    Frontiers in genetics

  4. Epigenetic clock predicts chronological age in humans (MAE ± 3.36).

    “The most accurate predictions were obtained when using QRNN or QRSVM (mean absolute prediction error, MAE of ± 3.36 and ± 3.41, respectively).”

    HumansQRNN modelbloodn = 895

    A common epigenetic clock from childhood to old age

    Forensic science international. Genetics

  5. Chronological age is associated with epigenetic clock in humans (planned cesarean birth at term gestation) (r = 0.72 to 0.87, p < 0.001).

    “Correlations between blood epigenetic age and maternal age ranged from 0.72 to 0.87 (all p < 0.001).”

    Humansplanned cesarean birth at term gestationwhole bloodfemalesn = 21

    Advancing understanding of maternal age: correlating epigenetic clocks in blood and myometrium

    Epigenetics communications

  6. Chronological age is associated with epigenetic clock in humans (r > 0.8, p < 0.0001).

    “We observe strong correlations between the epigenetic clocks and individual's chronological age (r > 0.8, p < 0.0001).”

    Humans

    Accelerated biological aging in COVID-19 patients

    Nature communications

  7. Epigenetic clock predicts chronological age in humans (Southern Han Chinese cohort) (MAD 1.29 years).

    “The MAD values were 2.97, 2.22, 2.19, and 1.29 years for SR, SVR-eps, SVR-nu, and RFR in the CHS cohort, respectively.”

    HumansSouthern Han Chinese cohortbloodn = 240

    Chronological Age Prediction: Developmental Evaluation of DNA Methylation-Based Machine Learning Models

    Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology

  8. Epigenetic clock predicts chronological age in humans.

    “the epigenetic algorithm accurately predicts age when applied to WBCs but not to CCs”

    Humanswhite blood cellsfemales

    DNA methylation-based age prediction and telomere length in white blood cells and cumulus cells of infertile women with normal or poor response to ovarian stimulation

    Aging

  9. Epigenetic clock predicts chronological age in humans (LBC1921) (10.0% of age variance explained; P < 1 × 10−7).

    “Telomere length explained 6.6% of the variance in age in LBC1921, the epigenetic clock explained 10.0%”

    HumansLBC1921n = 414

    The epigenetic clock and telomere length are independently associated with chronological age and mortality

    International journal of epidemiology

  10. Epigenetic clock predicts chronological age in Acanthaster cf. solaris (MAE 0.31 ± 0.22 years).

    “achieving a mean absolute error of 0.31 ± 0.22 years, corresponding to 4-6% of the CoTS lifespan (5-8 years).”

    Model organisms

    DNA methylation-based ageing in a deuterostome invertebrate: an epigenetic clock for the crown-of-thorns seastar (Acanthaster cf. solaris)

    Biology letters

All 28

Mortality

upin humans15upin reviews3upin silico1

19 studies

  1. Epigenetic clock predicts mortality in humans.

    “Epigenetic clocks strongly predicted incident worsening of HF and mortality.”

    Humans

    Global and regional DNA methylation patterns in heart failure: a case-control analysis

    EBioMedicine

  2. Epigenetic clock predicts mortality in humans (P < 0.05/174).

    “there are 27 diseases (including primary lung cancer and diabetes) where the hazard ratio for the clock exceeds the clock's association with all-cause mortality.”

    Humans10-yearsn = 18,859

    An unbiased comparison of 14 epigenetic clocks in relation to 174 incident disease outcomes

    Nature communications

  3. Epigenetic clock predicts mortality in humans.

    “there were 27 diseases (including primary lung cancer and diabetes) where the hazard ratio for the clock exceeded the clock's association with all-cause mortality”

    Humans10-yearn = 18,849

    An unbiased comparison of 14 epigenetic clocks in relation to 10-year onset of 174 disease outcomes in 18,859 individuals

    medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciencesPreprint

  4. Epigenetic clock is associated with mortality in humans (Combined cohorts analysis; per one standard deviation increase in baseline epigenetic age) (22% increased mortality risk per standard deviation; P= 2.6 × 10−4).

    “a one standard deviation increase in baseline epigenetic age was linked to a 22% increased mortality risk (P= 2.6 × 10−4)”

    HumansCombined cohorts analysis; per one standard deviation increase in baseline epigenetic age

    The epigenetic clock and telomere length are independently associated with chronological age and mortality

    International journal of epidemiology

  5. Epigenetic clock predicts mortality in silico.

    “we developed epigenetic clocks that predict expected mortality across species and tissues”

    In silicoblood

    Heterogeneous epigenetic regulatory patterns link mammalian aging, development, and mortality

    bioRxivPreprint

  6. Epigenetic clock predicts mortality in humans.

    “Epigenetic clocks use patterns of aging-related DNA methylation to predict morbidity and mortality”

    Review

    Integrating biological aging into clinical practice: a review and path forward for precision longevity medicine

    GeroScience

  7. Epigenetic clock predicts mortality in humans.

    “these models have evolved from tools designed primarily to predict chronological age into increasingly sophisticated biomarkers of morbidity, mortality, and the pace of physiological decline.”

    Review

    Epigenetic Clocks: Biological Aging, Disease, and Clinical Applications

    The EuroBiotech Journal

  8. Epigenetic clock predicts mortality in humans.

    “These clocks provide predictive insights into mortality and age-related disease risks”

    Review

    Vascular Aging Across the Cardiovascular-Alzheimer's Continuum: Hemodynamics and Artificial Intelligence

    Aging and disease

  9. Epigenetic clock predicts mortality.

    “have demonstrated strong capacity for predicting morbidity, mortality, and functional decline”

    Review

    How old are you really? Epigenetic clocks – A narrative review

    Journal of Integrative Medicine and Research

  10. Epigenetic clock predicts mortality in PWH.

    “Second-generation epigenetic clocks demonstrate accelerated aging-related phenotypes in PWH, including greater predicted morbidity and mortality.”

    Reviewin PWH

    Epigenetic aging is a hallmark of HIV pathogenesis and phenotypic outcomes

    Current HIV/AIDS reports

All 19

Biological age

no changein humans2upin reviews2upin humans1upin mice1+1

7 studies

  1. Epigenetic clock predicts biological age in humans (unisex model) (MAD 4.695 years, RMSE 6.602 years).

    “Our model showed a cross-validated MAD and RMSE of 4.680 and 6.436 years in the training set and of 4.695 and 6.602 years in the validation set, respectively.”

    Humansunisex modelbuccal mucosan = 69

    DNA methylation-based age estimation for adults and minors: considering sex-specific differences and non-linear correlations

    International journal of legal medicine

  2. Epigenetic clock predicts biological age in mice (MAE = 2.30 weeks, R2 = 0.99).

    “Elastic-net clocks achieved high accuracy in the training cohort (blood: α = 0.8, 72 CpGs, MAE = 2.30 weeks, R2 = 0.99”

    Animalsbloodmales

    Age-associated DNA methylation patterns in mouse blood and tail: feasibility of tissue-specific epigenetic clock development

    GeroScience

  3. Epigenetic clock predicts biological age in humans.

    “DNA methylation (DNAm)-based epigenetic clocks are machine-learning (ML)-trained predictors of biological age”

    Review

    How Old Are You Really? A Hands-on Computational Tutorial on Epigenetic Clocks as Biomarkers of Biological Aging Across Diverse Populations

    ACM International Conference on Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, and Health Informatics (ACM-BCB)

  4. Epigenetic clock predicts biological age in R. bonasus (MAE < 0.75 years, R2 > 0.98).

    “The epigenetic clocks developed were highly accurate (mean absolute error, MAE, < 0.75 years) and precise (R2 > 0.98).”

    Animalsfin clips and whole bloodn = 42

    Noninvasive, epigenetic age estimation in an elasmobranch, the cownose ray (Rhinoptera bonasus)

    Scientific reports

  5. Epigenetic clock is associated with biological age in humans.

    “Thus, epigenetic clocks appear to capture fundamental molecular processes tied to BA and can serve as powerful tools for studying health, development, and aging across the lifespan.”

    Review

    "Epigenetic clocks": Theory and applications in human biology

    American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council

  6. Epigenetic clock predicts biological age.

    “Methylation levels of certain CpG sites display strict correlation to age and could be used as "epigenetic clock" to predict biological age.”

    Review

    Aging as an Epigenetic Phenomenon

    Current genomics

  7. Epigenetic clock predicts biological age.

    “Thus far, the most promising, new biological age predictor is the epigenetic clock; however its true value as a biomarker of aging requires longitudinal confirmation.”

    Review

    Biological Age Predictors

    EBioMedicine

Cognitive function

downin humans3upin humans1mixedin humans1upin silico1

6 studies

  1. Epigenetic clock is associated with cognitive function in humans.

    “There were significant associations between greater acceleration of all clocks and lower cognitive function at each visit and MCI at V2.”

    Humansblood~7 yearsn = 2,671

    Longitudinal associations of epigenetic aging with cognitive aging in Hispanic/Latino adults from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

    Aging

  2. Epigenetic clock is associated with cognitive function in humans (except for PhenoAge).

    “All DNA methylation clocks were associated with cognitive performance, except for PhenoAge.”

    Humansexcept for PhenoAge

    The Interplay Between Biological Aging and Volunteering Engagement in Predicting Cognitive Performance: Evidence From the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol Study

    The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences

  3. Epigenetic clock predicts cognitive function in humans.

    “predicted progression from cognitively normal aging to mild cognitive impairment or AD and worse longitudinal cognitive outcomes”

    Humans

    DNA methylation age from peripheral blood predicts progression to Alzheimer's disease, white matter disease burden, and cortical atrophy

    Research squarePreprint

  4. Epigenetic clock predicts cognitive function in silico.

    “Clocks with higher reliability produced more stable associations with cognitive outcomes and more consistent responses to interventions”

    In silico

    Biological Versus Technical Reliability of Epigenetic Clocks and Implications for Disease Prognosis and Intervention Response

    Aging cell

  5. Epigenetic clock is associated with cognitive function in patients affected by Alzheimer's disease.

    “and it was correlated with the onset of complex diseases, mitochondrial alterations, dementia and cognitive decline”

    Reviewin patients affected by Alzheimer's disease

    Epigenetic Clocks and Their Prospective Application in the Complex Landscape of Aging and Alzheimer's Disease

    Genes

  6. Epigenetic clock is associated with cognitive function in humans.

    “Many studies have linked these biomarkers to cognition, mental health, brain structure, and pathology during aging.”

    Reviewbrain

    Aging biomarkers and the brain

    Seminars in cell & developmental biology

Age

mixedin humans1upin humans1upin O. americanus1upin O. virginianus1+1

3 studies

  1. Epigenetic clock is associated with age in humans.

    “The clocks vary in the strength of their relationships with age, with each other and with independent variables.”

    Humans

    Associations of Age, Sex, Race/Ethnicity, and Education With 13 Epigenetic Clocks in a Nationally Representative U.S. Sample: The Health and Retirement Study

    The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences

  2. Epigenetic clock predicts age in O. americanus (r = .97, MAE = 0.61).

    “mountain goat r = .97) and robust (black bear Median Absolute Error or MAE = 1.33; white-tailed deer MAE = 0.29; mountain goat MAE = 0.61) models of age or clocks.”

    Animalsn = 45

    Epigenetic clocks, sex markers and age-class diagnostics in three harvested large mammals

    Molecular ecology resources

  3. Epigenetic clock predicts age in O. virginianus (r = .99, MAE = 0.29).

    “white-tailed deer r = .99; mountain goat r = .97) and robust (black bear Median Absolute Error or MAE = 1.33; white-tailed deer MAE = 0.29;”

    Animalsn = 47

    Epigenetic clocks, sex markers and age-class diagnostics in three harvested large mammals

    Molecular ecology resources

  4. Epigenetic clock predicts age in U. americanus (r = .95, MAE = 1.33).

    “elastic net) to build explanatory (black bear r = .95; white-tailed deer r = .99; mountain goat r = .97) and robust (black bear Median Absolute Error or MAE = 1.33;”

    Animalsn = 49

    Epigenetic clocks, sex markers and age-class diagnostics in three harvested large mammals

    Molecular ecology resources

  5. Epigenetic clock predicts age in humans.

    “The epigenetic clock is a highly accurate biomarker of age in humans”

    Review

    A HIERARCHICAL MODEL FOR THE CONTROL OF EPIGENETIC AGING IN MAMMALS

    Ageing research reviews

Frailty

upin humans2upin reviews1

3 studies

  1. Epigenetic clock is associated with frailty.

    “In aging biology, epigenetic clocks correlate strongly with mortality, frailty, and functional decline”

    Review

    Epigenetic Biological Age as a Preoperative Risk Biomarker for Surgical Recovery: A Narrative Review

    OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints)Preprint

  2. Epigenetic clock predicts frailty in humans.

    “epigenetic clocks determine age and frailty.”

    Review

    Frailty and the Interactions between Skeletal Muscle, Bone, and Adipose Tissue-Impact on Cardiovascular Disease and Possible Therapeutic Measures

    International journal of molecular sciences

  3. Epigenetic clock predicts frailty in humans.

    “DNA methylation-based estimates of biologic age can predict important age-related outcomes, including risk of frailty”

    Review

    DNA Methylation, Aging, and Cancer Risk: A Mini-Review

    Frontiers in bioinformatics

Biological age

upin dogs1upin humans1upin reviews1

3 studies

  1. Epigenetic clock predicts biological age in humans (R2=0.86, P<0.001).

    “The established biological age prediction model was as follows: Y=-53.121×EDARADD cg09809672-137.564×IPO8 cg19722847+141.040×NHLRC1 cg22736354-67.893×P2RX6 cg05442902+149.547×SCGNcg06493994+4.592×sex+64.185 (R2=0.86, P<0.001)”

    Humanswhole bloodn = 256

    An epigenetic clock model for assessing the human biological age of healthy aging

    Zhonghua yi xue za zhi

  2. Epigenetic clock predicts biological age in dogs.

    “Our findings highlight several robust biomarkers, such as DNA methylation-based epigenetic clocks, telomere attrition, CD4+/CD8+ T-cell ratio, hematological markers (e.g., globulin levels), and cognitive function scores.”

    Review

    Markers of biological age in dogs

    Ageing research reviews

  3. Epigenetic clock predicts biological age.

    “the use of epigenetic clocks has opened the door towards studying biological ageing quantitatively”

    Review

    Epigenetic age prediction

    Aging cell

More on Biological age

Epigenetic age

downin humans1mixedin silico1

2 studies

  1. Epigenetic clock is associated with epigenetic age in humans (low correlation).

    “most epigenetic clock estimates of blood-based tissues exhibited low correlation with estimates from oral-based tissues despite controlling for cellular proportions and other technical factors”

    Humansn = 83

    Cross-Tissue Comparison of Epigenetic Aging Clocks in Humans

    bioRxiv : the preprint server for biologyPreprint

  2. Epigenetic clock predicts epigenetic age in silico (Comparison of eight blood-trained clocks in a publicly available dataset) (17-year average difference between youngest and oldest predictions; individual differences 4–45 years).

    “Our simple analysis revealed that the average sample difference between the youngest and oldest predicted ages across these clocks was 17 years.”

    In silicoComparison of eight blood-trained clocks in a publicly available datasetwhole blood

    Understanding and making sense of epigenetic age misalignment across different aging clocks

    Epigenomics

More on Epigenetic age

Exercise

downin humans1mixedin humans1

2 studies

  1. Exercise is associated with epigenetic clock in humans (attenuated after adjusting for lifestyle-related factors).

    “Although biological ageing was accelerated in sedentary and highly active classes, after adjusting for other lifestyle-related factors, the associations mainly attenuated.”

    Humansattenuated after adjusting for lifestyle-related factorsn = 1,153

    The associations of long-term physical activity in adulthood with later biological ageing and all-cause mortality - a prospective twin study

    medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciencesPreprint

  2. Exercise is associated with epigenetic clock in humans.

    “higher levels of physical performance correlate with a younger epigenetic profile”

    Review

    Relationship Between the Level of Physical Performance and the Rate of Biological Ageing (Review)

    Journal of Medical and Biological Research

More on Exercise

DNA methylation

mixedin humans1upin humans1

2 studies

  1. Epigenetic clock is associated with DNA methylation in humans.

    “clock sites (i) diverge widely in their developmental trajectories, often showing non-linear change over time”

    Humans

    Characterising developmental dynamics of adult epigenetic clock sites

    EBioMedicine

  2. DNA methylation is associated with epigenetic clock in humans.

    “chronological and biological clocks, but not pace-of-aging clocks, show a strong enrichment for those CpGs that accrue both mean and variance changes during aging.”

    Humansblood

    A comprehensive map of the ageing blood methylome

    bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)Preprint

More on DNA methylation

Fasting

mixedin humans1

1 study

  1. Fasting is associated with epigenetic clock in humans.

    “epigenetic aging clocks showed clock-specific and time-dependent responses, with substantial inter-individual variability.”

    Human trial12-dayn = 32

    Effects of long-term fasting: longitudinal epigenetic responses in humans

    bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)Preprint

More on Fasting

Senolytics

mixedin humans1

1 study

  1. Senolytics are associated with epigenetic clock in humans.

    “while others such as senolytic drugs have inconsistent effects”

    Human trial

    DNAm aging biomarkers are responsive: Insights from 51 longevity interventional studies in humans

    bioRxiv : the preprint server for biologyPreprint

More on Senolytics

TNF-alpha inhibitors

mixedin humans1

1 study

  1. TNF-alpha inhibitors are associated with epigenetic clock in humans.

    “Some classes of interventions such as TNF-alpha inhibitors have strong, consistent effects across multiple studies”

    Human trial

    DNAm aging biomarkers are responsive: Insights from 51 longevity interventional studies in humans

    bioRxiv : the preprint server for biologyPreprint

More on TNF-alpha inhibitors

All 95

Funding

29 grants since 2018

National Institute on Aging$11.9MJapan Society for the Promotion of Science¥60.3MBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

How this record changed

  1. Summary rewritten as its findings changed.

    As it read before

    In Taeniopygia guttata, early-life stress and corticosterone accelerate the epigenetic clock, while in a human cohort, epigenetic puberty correlates with the epigenetic clock.

  2. Summary written from the findings.

Latest

Dec 2025: 55Jan 2026: 40Feb 2026: 45Mar 2026: 39Apr 2026: 36May 2026: 43Jun 2026: 51Jul 2026: 55Aug 2026: 45Sep 2026: 39Oct 2026: 37Nov 2026: 4489 papers in 12 months
Nature Methods

DNA-end correction linked to better cell-free DNA profiling

The JEEPERS framework detected and corrected false methylation signals introduced when cell-free DNA was prepared for sequencing.The JEEPERS framework detected and corrected false methylation signals introduced when cell-free DNA was prepared for sequencing.

Computational studyBiomarkers
Paper
bioRxiv

Ovarian age measures partly shift towards host age in mice

Transplanting ovaries between younger and older mice shifted molecular age estimates in both directions, but the changes remained partial.Transplanting ovaries between younger and older mice shifted molecular age estimates in both directions, but the changes remained partial.

Preprint: mouse studyReproductive system
Paper
Aging Cell

Anti-aging clock results often fail across multiple models

When researchers applied extra biological age clocks to previously tested anti-aging treatments, no additional clock showed a statistically meaningful effect.When researchers applied extra biological age clocks to previously tested anti-aging treatments, no additional clock showed a statistically meaningful effect.

Computational studyBiomarkers
Paper

See all 1,666 papers on epigenetic clock

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