What is DunedinPACE?
DunedinPACE is an epigenetic clock that estimates pace of aging (how fast you are aging) rather than biological age. It is derived from the Dunedin Study longitudinal cohort and uses DNA methylation patterns to predict decline across multiple organ systems.
Key Points
- •Pace vs. age — reflects rate of change, not absolute "age"
- •Intervention tracking — can show if interventions slow aging pace
- •Multi-system — correlates with cardiovascular, metabolic, cognitive, and physical decline
Why does DunedinPACE matter?
DunedinPACE matters because it tries to estimate how fast a person is aging right now, rather than how old their body appears overall. That makes it a "speedometer" rather than an "odometer," which researchers hope makes it more sensitive to change over time.
In research cohorts, faster scores have been associated with higher risk of chronic disease, disability, and mortality. It is used mainly as a research endpoint, for example to test whether an intervention changes the pace of biological aging. It is not a diagnostic test, and a single score says little about one person's future health.
How is DunedinPACE measured?
DunedinPACE is measured from a blood sample using DNA methylation analysis. A lab reads methylation levels at many specific sites across the genome, and an algorithm converts that pattern into a single value, where 1.0 corresponds to one year of biological aging per calendar year.
Results depend on lab methods and sample handling, and scores can shift between tests. Researchers still debate how much short-term changes reflect real biology versus measurement noise, so trends across repeated tests are more informative than one number.
In ONDA Life
The Senolytic article references DunedinPACE as a biomarker for aging and intervention effects.