Aging, exceptional longevity and comparisons of the Hannum and Horvath epigenetic clocks

Nicola J Armstrong; Karen A Mather; Anbupalam Thalamuthu; Margaret J Wright; Julian N Trollor; David Ames; Henry Brodaty; Peter R Schofield; Perminder S Sachdev; John B Kwok

doi:10.2217/epi-2016-0179

Aging, exceptional longevity and comparisons of the Hannum and Horvath epigenetic clocks

Epigenomics. 2017 May;9(5):689-700. doi: 10.2217/epi-2016-0179. Epub 2017 May 4.

Authors

Nicola J Armstrong^{1

2}, Karen A Mather¹, Anbupalam Thalamuthu¹, Margaret J Wright^{3

4}, Julian N Trollor^{1

5}, David Ames^{6

7}, Henry Brodaty^{1

8}, Peter R Schofield^{9

10}, Perminder S Sachdev^{1

11}, John B Kwok^{9

10

12}

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Healthy Brain Aging, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Australia, Sydney, Australia.
² Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia.
³ Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
⁴ Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
⁵ Department of Developmental Disability Neuropsychiatry, UNSW Australia, Sydney, Australia.
⁶ Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
⁷ National Aging Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
⁸ Dementia Collaborative Research Centre - Assessment & Better Care, UNSW Australia, Sydney, Australia.
⁹ Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia.
¹⁰ School of Medical Sciences, UNSW Australia, Sydney, Australia.
¹¹ Neuropsychiatric Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, Australia.
¹² Brain and Mind Centre - University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia.

PMID: 28470125
DOI: 10.2217/epi-2016-0179

Abstract

Aim: To examine the relationships between two epigenetic clocks, aging and exceptional longevity.

Materials & methods: Participants were from three adult cohorts with blood DNA methylation data (Illumina 450 K, n = 275, 34-103 years). Epigenetic age (DNAmage) and age acceleration measures were calculated using the Hannum and Horvath epigenetic clocks.

Results: Across all cohorts, DNAmage was correlated with chronological age. In the long-lived cohort (Sydney Centenarian Study; 95+, n = 23), DNAmage was lower than chronological age for both clocks. Mean Sydney Centenarian Study Hannum age acceleration was negative, while the converse was observed for the Horvath model.

Conclusion: Long-lived individuals have a young epigenetic age compared with their chronological age.

Keywords: DNAmage; acceleration; age; aging; centenarians; epigenetic clock; longevity.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
CpG Islands
DNA Methylation*
Epigenesis, Genetic*
Female
Humans
Longevity / genetics*
Male
Middle Aged