Curriculum
MODULE 06 · 55 min

Biomarkers & Biological Age Testing

What your blood, your epigenome, and your wearables actually reveal.

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Core summary

You don't need a $500 test to track your aging — basic blood work, blood pressure, grip strength, and how fast you walk tell most of the story. Fancy 'biological age' tests are interesting but jumpy: the same person can score wildly different across tests and weeks. Use them for trends, not for declaring you're 'really 32'.

Topics covered

  • 01Standard cardiometabolic panel: ApoB, LDL-P, Lp(a), HbA1c, hsCRP
  • 02Epigenetic clocks: Horvath, GrimAge, DunedinPACE
  • 03Inflammatory aging clocks (iAge)
  • 04Frailty and physical function tests (grip strength, gait speed)
  • 05Wearables: HRV, RHR, VO2max estimation, sleep tracking
  • 06What's signal, what's noise, what to do with the result

Learning objectives

  • →Order an evidence-based longevity-relevant lab panel.
  • →Interpret ApoB and Lp(a) in cardiovascular risk discussions.
  • →Explain the limitations and reproducibility of consumer epigenetic clocks.
  • →Use grip strength and gait speed as low-cost biological age proxies.

Key takeaways

  • →ApoB and Lp(a) are higher-yield than total cholesterol for risk stratification.
  • →Epigenetic clocks are research-grade — direct-to-consumer reports remain volatile.
  • →Grip strength and gait speed predict mortality as well as some lab biomarkers, at near-zero cost.

Graded claims

B
ApoB outperforms LDL-C for CV risk prediction
Supported, context-specific — Increasingly endorsed by lipid guidelines.
A
Lp(a) is genetically determined and additive to other risk
Clinically established — Robust genetic and epidemiologic evidence.
A
Grip strength predicts all-cause mortality
Clinically established — Confirmed across PURE and UK Biobank.
D
Consumer epigenetic age is reproducible week-to-week
Plausible, unproven in humans — Test-retest variability often exceeds yearly drift.
E
A single biological age number captures aging
Popular, weak support — Aging is multi-dimensional; no single metric suffices.

Quick check

1. Which lipid measure best reflects atherogenic particle number?
2. DunedinPACE estimates:
3. A simple, validated functional aging marker is:

Flashcards

Further reading

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