Biologically Older People Lost Grip and Thinking Faster
Graded Preliminary — existing data from 4,018 people over up to twelve years were analysed; this shows links but not cause, and the clocks were looked at in hindsight.
- Design
- Retrospective cohort study
- Participants
- 4,018
- Duration
- 12 years
- Funding
- NIH HHS
People whom the GrimAge DNA clock rated as biologically older lost thinking ability, grip strength and walking speed faster over the years.
Epigenetic clocks are seen as a way to measure how old a body is biologically. They estimate age from chemical tags on the DNA. People whose clock showed an older age lost thinking ability, grip strength and walking speed faster over the years. This held even after accounting for their actual age.
The researchers used data from 4,018 people in the Health and Retirement Study. All of them had these DNA tags measured. They also had repeated tests over up to twelve years. The team compared twelve different clocks. The clearest picture came from a clock called GrimAge. It was linked to faster decline in all three areas. A second clock, the Hannum clock, showed this link for thinking ability.
Thinking, strength and walking speed are among the abilities that fade as people become frail. Still, the study only describes a link. It cannot tell whether a biologically older body causes the decline. The researchers now want to compare the clocks in more detail to find the patterns behind it.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: One author received research funding from Bayer and consulted for Apopharma and MPM Bioimpact, stated as unrelated to this work.
Disclaimer: Research summaries are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your health routine.