Faster DNA-based aging linked to poorer function in adults
A three-year cohort study of 970 adults found that the link between faster DNA-based aging and poorer function strengthened at older ages.
Our read
Biomarkers- Studied:
- Cohort study of 970 adults aged 20 years or older, 3-year (Dose-response)
- What changed:
- A 10-year acceleration in DNA-based aging was linked to a 3.20-point decrease in physical and mental function scores
- The catch:
- Biological aging was measured only once, potentially missing changes over time
- In the record:
- One of 4 papers on accelerated epigenetic aging on record: 3 with results in people.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Among 970 adults aged 20 or older in the Toulouse area of France, faster epigenetic aging was associated with poorer physical and mental capacity in an observational cohort study. Participants had a median age of 64; 602 were women.
Blood tests at enrollment estimated biological age from chemical marks on DNA and from inflammation-related proteins. Researchers assessed thinking, mobility, depressive symptoms, grip strength, vision and hearing annually for about three years. Accelerated DNA-based aging was associated with lower combined capacity scores. The association strengthened at older ages, predominantly in men. Inflammation-based aging showed weaker associations across aging. Participants with both forms of accelerated biological aging had greater functional impairment. Mobility showed the strongest association with accelerated DNA-based aging.
Why it matters
Age-related loss of physical and mental capacity is a target for preventive medicine. The authors suggest that blood-based aging measures may help identify high-risk individuals and guide efforts to preserve function.
Caveats
Health and lifestyle differences could have contributed to both the blood-based aging estimates and poorer function, despite statistical adjustments. Participants came from one French region, and people with severe disease compromising life expectancy were excluded.
From the paper
- Participants
A total of 904 individuals had at least 2 global IC measurements over the 3-year follow-up.
- Follow-up
The median (IQR) follow-up duration was 3.01 (2.97-3.04) years.
- Result
… and multimorbidity (Horvath Pan tissue: β = −1.52; 95% CI, −2.41 to −0.62; raw P =.001; FDR-adjusted P =.003; GrimAge: β = −2.64; 95% CI, −4.18 to −1.10; raw P =.001; FDR-adjusted P =.003).
- Limitation
Second, as in our longitudinal models, attained chronological age was used as the timescale, it should be noted that the estimated coefficients reflect the weighted average of between-participant and within-participant effect estimates.
Quoted word for word from the full text on PubMed Central.
- Inflammation
- Epigenetic regulation of gene expression
- Grip strength
- Depression
- Global intrinsic capacity
- Humans
The paper
Accelerated Epigenetic and Inflammatory Aging and Intrinsic Capacity
Inserm; for the IHU HealthAge INSPIRE/Open Science group
JAMA Network Open, Jul 1, 2026, Open access
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