Research

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A mortality risk score based on DNA methylation levels of ten specific CpG sites in peripheral blood strongly predicts all-cause mortality, independent of chronological age and the 'epigenetic clock'.

This research identifies a blood test that can predict your risk of dying from any cause more accurately than your age alone. The test looks at the methylation status of 10 specific genes. A higher score indicates higher risk. While this doesn't tell you how to change your health, it highlights the importance of managing risk factors like smoking, blood pressure, and diabetes, as these are linked to the methylation patterns found. Prevention of smoking-related DNAm changes may improve longevity.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
A mortality risk score based on ten selected CpGs exhibits strong association with all-cause mortality, showing hazard ratios (95% CI) of 2.16 (1.10–4.24), 3.42 (1.81–6.46) and 7.36 (3.69–14.68), respectively, for participants with scores of 1, 2–5 and 5+ compared with a score of 0.
Yan Zhang et al. · Nature Communications · 2017

Why this rating

Large cohort study (N~1,900), long follow-up (up to 14 years), genome-wide screening, and independent validation in a second cohort.

Source

DNA methylation signatures in peripheral blood strongly predict all-cause mortality

Yan Zhang et al. · Nature Communications · 2017

DOI 10.1038/ncomms14617

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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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