GrimAge and GrimAge2 Age Acceleration effectively predict mortality risk: a retrospective cohort study.

Area of Science:

• Biogerontology
• Epigenetics
• Public Health

Background:

• Epigenetic clocks measure biological age and Age Acceleration (AA) is linked to health outcomes.
• Comparative analysis of different epigenetic clock AAs for mortality prediction is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically evaluate the predictive value of AAs from multiple epigenetic clocks for all-cause, cancer-specific, and cardiac mortality.
• To compare the performance of different epigenetic clocks in mortality risk prediction.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 1,942 NHANES participants.
• Analysis of associations between AAs from multiple epigenetic clocks and mortality using restricted cubic spline and Cox proportional hazards models.
• Model performance comparison using AIC and C-index.

Main Results:

• GrimAge AA and GrimAge2 AA showed approximately linear, positive associations with all-cause, cancer, and cardiac mortality.
• Both GrimAge and GrimAge2 AAs were significantly associated with increased mortality risk across subgroups.
• GrimAge and GrimAge2 demonstrated similar predictive performance for mortality outcomes.

Conclusions:

• GrimAge and GrimAge2 are effective epigenetic biomarkers for predicting mortality risk.
• These clocks may serve as valuable tools in future ageing and health research.
• Further research can explore the clinical utility of these epigenetic biomarkers.