What is biological age and how do you measure it?
Biological age is a measure of how old your body functions, as opposed to how many years you have lived. We estimate it from epigenetic markers, blood biomarkers, body composition, and cardiopulmonary performance, then track it over time. Unlike calendar age, biological age can move in both directions.
Key points
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Three to five one sentence takeaways a reader could quote without reading the full page.
What does biological age actually mean?
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Define biological age against chronological age and state what the number does and does not claim, 120 to 180 words.
How is biological age measured at minus10med?
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Name each input used (epigenetic clock, blood biomarkers, body composition, cardiopulmonary performance), the sample or test behind it and the turnaround, 150 to 250 words.
How accurate is a biological age result?
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State the known measurement variability of the clocks used, what a meaningful change looks like versus noise, and cite the primary source, 120 to 200 words.
Can biological age be lowered, and how fast?
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Explain which interventions have evidence behind them and the realistic timescale for a repeat measurement to shift, 150 to 220 words.
Who should have their biological age measured?
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Describe the patient situations where the test changes management, and the situations where it does not, 100 to 160 words.
What happens after the result?
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Describe the review consultation, what is handed over, and the retest cadence, 80 to 140 words.
Screening limits
A normal result does not exclude disease. These tests do not replace the national screening programmes for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer, which you should continue to attend. Broad testing produces incidental findings that need further investigation, and that investigation has its own burden and risk.
Reviewed by Dr. Erietta Galani, MD, PhD, MD, PhD in cellular immunology, dual specialty in internal medicine and intensive care, Founder and Medical Lead, minus10med, Athens.
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