How Old Are You Really? Genes Reveal 'Biological Age'
- Sayuki
- Sep 8, 2015
- 1 min read
By reading a "signature" based on 150 of a person's genes, researchers can determine the individual's biological age, which may be different from his or her chronological age, according to a new study.
Moreover, a person's biological age is a better measure for determining a person's health than is chronological age, these researchers say. In the study, people's biological age was more closely tied to their risk of age-related diseases, such as dementia and osteoporosis, than was their chronological age.
"Most people accept that all 60-year olds are not the same," James Timmons, a professor of precision medicine at King's College in London and the lead author on the study, said in a statement. But a person's chronological age is still used to determine everything from the individual's insurance premiums to whether he or she needs certain medical procedures, he said.
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