My DNAge Biological Age Test Review: Is It Accurate? Should You Buy It?

Preserving and improving healthspan with advanced age is a concept that has garnered increasing popularity in recent years. As a result, numerous tech companies have developed biological age tests to help people achieve wellness and longevity. 

Rather than measuring your age based on the number of years you’ve been alive (your chronological age), biological age tests measure key health and ageing biomarkers to quantify the state of your health based on organ and cellular function and estimate your ‘true age’. 

The idea of knowing your biological age can be liberating, giving you greater power and control over your health and, by extension, direct you on how to live your life. One such test that attempts to calculate your ‘true age’ is My DNAge. But how accurate is it? This article reviews the My DNAge biological age test, including what it does, how it works, and its pros and cons. 

What Is My DNAge?

The My DNAge test uses the epigenetic age clock, pioneered by Dr Steve Horvath in 2011, to determine biological age. Epigenetic process at the core of this biological age clock is DNA methylation that affects how genes are expressed and is influenced by lifestyle and environmental factors. 

In other words, poor diet, a lack of exercise, and living in a highly-polluted area can all affect your gene activity, making you more susceptible to chronic disease and ageing. With advancing age, more epigenetic changes accumulate throughout the body, thereby increasing an individual’s risk of age-related disease.

To accurately determine biological age, My DNAge test uses a blood or urine sample to assess over 2,000 biomarkers in the individual’s genome that are subject to epigenetic changes. The company that manufactures the test currently owns the exclusive commercial licence to Dr Horvath’s analytical method, making this biological age test one of the most accurate available on the market. 

The blood and urine biological age tests cost $299 and are available on the My DNAge website.  

How Does My DNAge Calculate My Biological Age?

Depending on the test you purchase, My DNAge either requires a few drops from a finger-prick blood sample or a urine sample. The urine test specifically assesses the state of the urinary tract to identify early warning signs of age-related functional decline. 

Once the sample has been collected, you mail it to the My DNAge laboratory using the prepaid label. Using patented SWARM (Simplified Whole-panel Amplification Reaction Method) technology, the lab then purifies the sample and analyses it for methylation patterns on over 2,000 loci (sites of DNA methylation) to predict biological age accurately.

After four to six weeks, you receive a data report summarising the biological age prediction via a secure website portal. This report includes three main components: your biological age vs your chronological age, your result percentile, and your relative age position in a scatter graph.  

Additionally, the report stipulates several measures to implement in order to increase your healthspan and improve your biological age over time. You can take a second test after six to twelve months of implementing various interventions to determine their effectiveness and impact on your biological age.

Pros And Cons Of My DNAge

While My DNAge is one of the most popular biological age tests available, you may be wondering whether it is reliable and good value for money. Take a look at the pros and cons and decide for yourself. 

Pros

• Uses Horvath’s clock epigenetic clock, which is widely considered the gold standard of biological age measurement.
• Offers a choice of blood or urine sample analysis based on users’ preferences. 
• Available to purchase globally.
• Compares the user’s biological age to that of their peers and the rest of the population.
• The test is more affordable than other epigenetic tests on the market. 

Cons

• The number of loci analysed (2000) is relatively small compared to other epigenetic age tests, some of which assess over 800,000 individual DNA sites. 
• The manufacturers have dubious privacy claims, stating that they don’t disclose information about your results; however, they also reserve the right to sell your personal identifying information to third parties. 
• The report containing the results is extremely brief. Much of the health advice included are generic tips that most customers are already aware of, e.g. getting more sleep, reducing stress, and doing more exercise. Alternative epigenetic age tests offer personalised recommendations to improve your health and a unique action plan tailored to your distinct health needs. 
• The algorithm used to build a report on the loci measurements is unknown, as is the reproducibility of results. 

GlycanAge vs My DNAge

While epigenetic testing, telomere length, and blood algorithms are popular techniques for measuring biological age, another reliable category involves testing glycans to quantify cellular ageing accurately. 

The GlycanAge test of biological age assesses the extent of inflammation in an individual’s immune system, based on which it accurately determines their biological age. The test provides effective, objective feedback on the current state of your health and your risk for age-related diseases long before they develop. 

Reasons to choose GlycanAge

• Chronic inflammation is a common denominator to a wide range of chronic disease processes and plays a key part in the shortening of human healthspan. You can quantify it only using the GlycanAge test. 
• Tests have a quicker turnaround speed, with results available in 3-5 weeks.
• Test packages are more affordable, with two purchases priced at $599. There is also a custom plan for long-term subscribers offering additional discounts, and price plans are also available to spread the cost over time. 
• Tests are available to customers worldwide.
• The test is backed by over 200 peer-reviewed papers and a diverse board of scientists with over 20 years of research in the field of glycobiology.
• The package offers complimentary expert 1-1 advice from scientists and/or healthcare professionals to help you understand your results and devise a personalised action plan to tackle your biological age.
• The technology behind the test is built on a baseline of 80,000 human samples, allowing for a better assessment of the efficacy of lifestyle interventions. 

If you’re ready to invest in your health, various packages and plans are available at affordable price points. A single test is recommended for those starting their wellness journey who want basic feedback. In contrast, two tests are suited to those who want to measure how effective lifestyle changes are in reversing their biological age. Alternatively, a custom plan is also available to more advanced users keen to make sustainable improvements to their health and achieve longevity.

Order your GlycanAge biological age test today.