Publishing their findings in the scientific journal Frontiers in Aging, a team of scientists has developed a cheek swab test that can estimate a person’s biological age. It can also supposedly assess a person’s risk of death within the coming year.
CheekAge was developed by a company called Tally Health, a New York-based organization dedicated to exploring the science behind aging and extending human life. It has developed a noninvasive version of the Epigenetic Clock test that estimates a person’s biological age by measuring changes in methylation values in cells. The epigenetic clock test usually requires gathering blood samples.
A Simple Cheek Swab Test Could Determine Your Biological Age And How Much Life You’ve Got Left
Other versions of the test required a comically absurd series of more than two dozen tests, including requiring the patient to enter the capsule called a BodPod that looks like the kind of thing that would eject you out of a space station before it explodes. Tally Health’s Cheekage claims to have reduced it all down to a simple cheek swab.
The idea here is that genetics and our lifestyle choices leave imprints on our DNA that scientists can take a peek at to determine how quickly we’re aging. Tally Health researchers found that DNA methylation in cheek cells could predict mortality in the same way blood tests have been shown to do.
This isn’t a test that will be used by doctors to help you get healthier. It’s being sold as a commercial product for anyone interested in finding out their biological age and potentially how much longer they’ve got to live.
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