Eisenberg and Colleagues Find Low Validity of Telomere Length Epigenetics Clocks

Posted: 3/21/2024 (CSDE Research)

CSDE Affiliate Dan T.A. Eisenberg (Anthropology) authored an article with colleagues in GeroScience, titled “DNA methylation-based estimators of telomere length show low correspondence with paternal age at conception and other measures of external validity of telomere length“.  Epigenetic clocks, specifically DNA methylation based estimators, are emerging measures to index health, longevity, and even environmental exposures (e.g. smoking).  DNA methylation based estimators of telomere length (DNAmTL) have been shown to better predict telomere length-associated variables (e.g., age, sex, and mortality) than telomere length itself. The biological significance of DNAmTL is unclear. Eisenberg and colleagues used data from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey to examine how DNAmTL measures compared to actually measured telomere lengths. Contrary to previous findings, on almost all measures of external validity (correlations with parental telomere length, southern blot telomere length, and age), actually measured TL outperformed DNAmTL. These findings suggest that DNAmTL is not a reliable index of inherited aspects of telomere length and underscores uncertainty about the biological meaning of DNAmTL.