DunedinPACE: Understanding Your Pace of Aging

What Is DunedinPACE?

DunedinPACE (Pace of Aging Computed from the Epigenome) represents a fundamentally different approach to measuring biological age. While most epigenetic clocks estimate how old your body appears to be — like an odometer reading showing total distance traveled — DunedinPACE measures how fast you are currently aging — like a speedometer showing your current speed.

Developed by researchers at Duke University and the University of Otago using data from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, DunedinPACE was published in eLife in 2022 (PMID: 35029144). It has rapidly become one of the most influential tools in longevity research.

The distinction between cumulative age and pace of aging is more than semantic. If you imagine two 50-year-old individuals with the same biological age of 55, they might have very different trajectories. One might have aged rapidly in their 20s and 30s but slowed down since adopting a healthier lifestyle, while the other might have aged slowly early in life but accelerated recently. DunedinPACE can potentially distinguish between these scenarios, while a standard biological age test cannot.

The Dunedin Study: Where It All Began

The Foundation

DunedinPACE derives its name from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a longitudinal cohort study that has followed 1,037 individuals born in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1972-1973 from birth through adulthood. This remarkable study has been collecting comprehensive health data on participants at regular intervals for over five decades.

Measuring Aging Longitudinally

A pivotal 2015 study from the Dunedin cohort established the concept of “pace of aging” by measuring 18 biomarkers of organ system function across three time points (ages 26, 32, and 38) in the study participants (PMID: 26150497). The researchers found that:

• Aging rates varied substantially among same-age individuals
• Some participants were aging nearly three times faster than others
• Faster aging was associated with worse physical function, cognitive decline, and older self-reported facial appearance
• The pace of aging was detectable even in young adults

This longitudinal data provided the foundation for developing DunedinPACE — a way to estimate the pace of aging from a single blood sample, rather than requiring decades of longitudinal measurements.

How Does DunedinPACE Work?

The Technical Approach

DunedinPACE uses DNA methylation data from a single blood sample to estimate the pace of aging. The algorithm was developed through a multi-step process:

1. Longitudinal biomarker data: Researchers measured 19 biomarkers across multiple organ systems at ages 26, 32, 38, and 45 in Dunedin Study participants
2. Pace of aging calculation: From these longitudinal measurements, a composite “pace of aging” was calculated for each participant
3. Methylation training: An elastic net regression algorithm was trained to predict the longitudinally-measured pace of aging using DNA methylation data from a single blood sample
4. Validation: The resulting DunedinPACE algorithm was validated in independent cohorts

The 19 Biomarkers

DunedinPACE’s training was based on changes in 19 biomarkers spanning multiple organ systems:

Interpreting Your Score

DunedinPACE scores are calibrated so that a score of 1.0 represents the average pace of aging:

How Does DunedinPACE Compare to Other Epigenetic Clocks?

The Generational Evolution of Epigenetic Clocks

The Odometer vs. Speedometer Analogy

This is worth emphasizing because it is the key conceptual difference:

Traditional clocks (Horvath, GrimAge, etc.) are like an odometer. They estimate your total biological mileage — how much biological aging has accumulated over your lifetime. A high reading could reflect fast aging now, fast aging in the past, or both.

DunedinPACE is like a speedometer. It estimates how fast you are aging right now. This makes it potentially more responsive to recent changes in health behaviors, lifestyle, or interventions.

Practical Implications

This distinction has important practical implications:

• For tracking interventions: DunedinPACE may respond to lifestyle changes more quickly than cumulative clocks, making it potentially more useful for short-term evaluation of health behaviors
• For younger individuals: Cumulative biological age has limited variability in younger people (a 25-year-old’s biological age is unlikely to differ dramatically from their chronological age). DunedinPACE can still detect meaningful variation in aging pace among young adults
• For comprehensive assessment: Using DunedinPACE alongside a cumulative clock like GrimAge provides complementary information — both how much aging has occurred and how fast it is continuing

What Has Research Shown About DunedinPACE?

Validation Studies

A 2023 study further validated DunedinPACE’s predictive capabilities, demonstrating its association with morbidity, disability, and mortality across multiple independent cohorts (PMID: 36648838). Key findings included:

• Higher DunedinPACE scores predicted earlier mortality
• The association held after adjusting for other risk factors
• DunedinPACE predicted functional decline and chronic disease onset
• The metric was sensitive to socioeconomic and behavioral risk factors

Associations with Health Outcomes

Research has documented associations between DunedinPACE and multiple health outcomes:

Sensitivity to Lifestyle Factors

Studies have found that DunedinPACE is associated with modifiable lifestyle factors:

• Smoking: Smokers consistently show higher DunedinPACE scores
• Physical activity: Regular exercise is associated with slower pace of aging
• Diet quality: Healthier dietary patterns are associated with lower scores
• Sleep: Adequate sleep duration is associated with slower aging pace
• Socioeconomic factors: Higher education and income are associated with slower aging

What Factors Influence Your DunedinPACE Score?

Factors Associated with Faster Aging (Higher Scores)

• Current smoking
• Heavy alcohol consumption
• Physical inactivity
• Poor diet quality
• Chronic stress
• Insufficient sleep
• Obesity
• Chronic inflammation
• Environmental pollutant exposure
• Lower socioeconomic status

Factors Associated with Slower Aging (Lower Scores)

• Regular physical activity (both aerobic and resistance training)
• Mediterranean-style or plant-rich diet
• Adequate sleep (7-9 hours)
• Non-smoking status
• Moderate or no alcohol consumption
• Effective stress management
• Healthy body composition
• Social connectivity
• Higher education level

Interventions That May Improve DunedinPACE

Several interventions have shown potential to improve DunedinPACE scores in research settings:

• Caloric restriction and intermittent fasting: The CALERIE trial (Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy) found that caloric restriction was associated with a slower pace of aging
• Multicomponent lifestyle interventions: Programs combining diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management have reported improvements
• Weight management: Weight loss in overweight/obese individuals has been associated with pace of aging improvements
• Smoking cessation: Quitting smoking is associated with gradual improvement in aging pace metrics

How to Use DunedinPACE in Practice

Getting Tested

DunedinPACE is available through several biological age testing services:

Tracking Over Time

DunedinPACE may be most valuable when tracked serially:

1. Establish baseline: Take an initial test to determine your starting pace of aging
2. Implement changes: Adopt targeted lifestyle modifications
3. Retest after 3-6 months: Allow sufficient time for changes to be reflected
4. Evaluate trajectory: Look for trends rather than focusing on individual data points
5. Adjust approach: Modify interventions based on trajectory

Integrating with Other Health Metrics

DunedinPACE is most informative when combined with other health data:

• Traditional blood work: Lipids, glucose, inflammatory markers, liver and kidney function
• Body composition: BMI, waist circumference, body fat percentage
• Functional measures: Grip strength, gait speed, balance
• Cumulative biological age: GrimAge or similar clock for complementary perspective
• Cardiovascular fitness: VO2max or proxy measures
• Sleep quality metrics: Sleep duration, continuity, architecture

Limitations and Considerations

Statistical Precision

Like all epigenetic measurements, DunedinPACE has inherent measurement uncertainty. The standard error of measurement means that small changes between tests (e.g., from 1.02 to 0.98) may not represent real biological change and should be interpreted with caution.

Blood Cell Composition

DunedinPACE measures methylation in blood cells, and changes in blood cell composition (which can be influenced by acute illness, stress, or recent intense exercise) may affect results. Consistent testing conditions help minimize this variability.

Validation Population

DunedinPACE was developed using a New Zealand cohort that may not perfectly represent all ethnic and genetic backgrounds. While validation in diverse cohorts has been encouraging, population-specific factors may influence scores.

Interpretation Without Clinical Standards

As with other biological age metrics, there are no universally agreed-upon clinical action thresholds for DunedinPACE. A score of 1.1 versus 0.9 clearly represents different aging trajectories, but the specific clinical significance of any given score is still being established.

Not a Diagnostic Tool

DunedinPACE is a research-derived biomarker, not a diagnostic test for any specific disease. It provides information about aging trajectory that may complement but not replace standard medical assessments.

The Future of Pace-of-Aging Measurement

DunedinPACE represents the current state of the art in pace-of-aging measurement, but the field continues to evolve:

• Next-generation versions: Researchers are developing improved versions using expanded methylation data and larger training cohorts
• Multi-tissue measurement: Future approaches may measure pace of aging in specific tissues, not just blood
• Integration with other omics: Combining methylation data with proteomics, metabolomics, and other molecular data could provide more comprehensive aging velocity measures
• Clinical trial endpoints: DunedinPACE is increasingly being used as an endpoint in clinical trials testing longevity interventions, which may accelerate its validation and clinical adoption

Key Takeaways

DunedinPACE represents a significant conceptual advancement in biological age measurement by focusing on how fast you are aging rather than how old your body appears. Its development from longitudinal data in the Dunedin Study provides a strong scientific foundation, and its associations with health outcomes and lifestyle factors have been validated across multiple independent cohorts.

For individuals interested in longevity, DunedinPACE offers a potentially more responsive metric for tracking the effects of health interventions compared to traditional biological age clocks. The speedometer-versus-odometer distinction makes it complementary to cumulative measures like GrimAge.

However, as with all biological age metrics, DunedinPACE should be interpreted cautiously. Measurement variability, the absence of clinical action thresholds, and the limitations of blood-based measurement all warrant consideration. The most valuable approach likely combines DunedinPACE with other health metrics for a comprehensive assessment of aging trajectory, ideally under the guidance of a healthcare provider familiar with longevity medicine.