Epigenetic clock measures biological age in children

The epigenetic clock emerged from the lab into the commercial space. Epigenetic clock tests are already available commercially.

However, development of biological markers of aging were primarily based on adult samples. This created a gap in our understanding of how biological aging is related to child development and pediatric diseases.

To address this gap, a group of scientists from US and Canada used publicly available DNA methylation data derived from DNA extracted from buccal cells of 1721 children, adolescents and young adults aged 0 to 20 years and discovered a set of the genes that are associated with biological age in this age population.

This discovery might help in understanding the environmental factors that can affect child health and development through epigenetics and how they are related with child disease and might be used in the future as an important tool for assessing child health and assessing the impact of different experiences and environments on children wellbeing.

Reference: https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/10/09/1820843116