Epigenetic Clocks

DNA Methylation (DNAm) is one mechanism by which exposure to adverse life circumstances and environments are linked to health outcomes related to aging. A number of researchers have identified portions of the genome where methylation changes are related to either age or, more recently, to health outcomes linked to age. The resulting “methylation clocks” combine information for a small number of of CpGs (typically 100-500) to produce indicators of epigenetic aging. Thirteen epigenetic clocks have been constructed using the HRS DNAm data collected in 2016 (n=4,018) through the 2016 Venous Blood Study (VBS).