DE-SWAN analysis of aging rates is unreliable in simulations

In a preprint using computational simulations, researchers evaluated DE-SWAN, a method used to study how large ensembles of omics biomarkers change across the life course. Earlier studies using DE-SWAN reported apparent repeated accelerations and decelerations of aging rates, including two to three peaks of aging-related changes. The authors modeled how robust the technique is to the age distribution of a sample and to the chosen window size. Under many realistic scenarios, DE-SWAN was highly sensitive to factors unrelated to underlying rates of change in aging biology. The authors conclude that the method is unreliable for studying rates of change across the life course under most circumstances, casting doubt on prior findings attributing biomarker peaks to biological shifts in aging rates.