DNA methylation age is associated with mortality in a longitudinal Danish twin study.
Abstract
An epigenetic profile defining the DNA methylation age (DNAm age) of an individual
has been suggested to be a biomarker of aging, and thus possibly providing a tool
for assessment of health and mortality. In this study, we estimated the DNAm age of
378 Danish twins, age 30-82 years, and furthermore included a 10-year longitudinal
study of the 86 oldest-old twins (mean age of 86.1 at follow-up), which subsequently
were followed for mortality for 8 years. We found that the DNAm age is highly correlated
with chronological age across all age groups (r = 0.97), but that the rate of change
of DNAm age decreases with age. The results may in part be explained by selective
mortality of those with a high DNAm age. This hypothesis was supported by a classical
survival analysis showing a 35% (4-77%) increased mortality risk for each 5-year increase
in the DNAm age vs. chronological age. Furthermore, the intrapair twin analysis revealed
a more-than-double mortality risk for the DNAm oldest twin compared to the co-twin
and a 'dose-response pattern' with the odds of dying first increasing 3.2 (1.05-10.1)
times per 5-year DNAm age difference within twin pairs, thus showing a stronger association
of DNAm age with mortality in the oldest-old when controlling for familial factors.
In conclusion, our results support that DNAm age qualifies as a biomarker of aging.
Type
Journal articleSubject
DNA methylationbiological age
biomarker
epigenetic clock
mortality
twins
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging
DNA Methylation
Denmark
Epigenesis, Genetic
Female
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Middle Aged
Molecular Sequence Data
Mortality
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/14649Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1111/acel.12421Publication Info
Christiansen, Lene; Lenart, Adam; Tan, Qihua; Vaupel, James W; Aviv, Abraham; McGue,
Matt; & Christensen, Kaare (2016). DNA methylation age is associated with mortality in a longitudinal Danish twin study.
Aging Cell, 15(1). pp. 149-154. 10.1111/acel.12421. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/14649.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
Collections
More Info
Show full item recordScholars@Duke
James Walton Vaupel
Research Professor Emeritus in the Sanford School of Public Policy
This author no longer has a Scholars@Duke profile, so the information shown here reflects
their Duke status at the time this item was deposited.

Articles written by Duke faculty are made available through the campus open access policy. For more information see: Duke Open Access Policy
Rights for Collection: Scholarly Articles
Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info