Traditional risk factors—age, sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, waist-to-hip ratio, and BMI—predict chronic disease incidence more accurately than epigenetic clocks in middle-aged adults over 7–9 years. This finding challenges the clinical utility of epigenetic aging biomarkers without demonstrated incremental value over conventional assessment.
Key Points
- Traditional risk factors outperform epigenetic clocks in disease prediction
- Study tracked 1,108 middle-aged adults for 7–9 years
- Epigenetic clocks lack proven added value in clinical settings
Longevity Analysis
The ability to identify individuals at risk for cardiometabolic disease, hypertension, cancer, and fatty liver disease depends on measurement accuracy and clinical actionability. This research demonstrates that widely accessible measures—body composition, smoking status, alcohol intake—provide superior predictive power compared to expensive epigenetic testing. For practitioners designing prevention protocols, this suggests that rigorous attention to traditional markers and behavioral modification remains the foundation of risk stratification. Epigenetic clocks may serve descriptive purposes in aging research, but they do not yet improve clinical decision-making beyond what conventional assessment already provides.
Original published by Wiley Aging Cell, by Daria Kostiniuk, Flóra Székely, Leo‐Pekka Lyytikäinen, Jo Ciantar, Sonja Rajić, Pashupati P. Mishra, Terho Lehtimäki, Katja Pahkala, Suvi Rovio, Juha Mykkänen, Olli Raitakari, Emma Raitoharju, Saara Marttila .