What this means
This review suggests a plan for studying how lifestyle affects aging in people. It does not show that any lifestyle change slows aging.
Plain-English summary written by an AI model from the abstract. The original is below.
- Who it was tested in
- A review of published research, no new people tested
- Kind of research
- A summary of earlier studies
The science
- Original title
- Lifestyle-Associated Biomarkers of Cellular and Whole-Organism Aging: A Practical Roadmap for Human Geroscience Trials.
- Authors
- Rose SC, Rizvanov AA, Haines DD et al.
- Journal
- Biomolecules
- Published
- Oct 27, 2026
- Study type
- Review · in humans
- PMID
- 42939758 ↗
Abstract
Aging is a multidimensional biological process that is not adequately captured by chronological age alone. Geroscience-the study of biological mechanisms that drive age-related functional decline and disease susceptibility-therefore requires biomarker frameworks that can identify biological aging trajectories and assess whether lifestyle-associated interventions meaningfully influence aging-related pathways. In this review, we propose a practical, mechanism-based framework for studying lifestyle-associated effects on cellular and whole-organism aging in humans. We examine major biomarker domains, including DNA-methylation-based epigenetic aging clocks, cellular senescence-associated measures, senescence-associated secretory phenotype factors, inflammaging mediators, oxidative stress indicators, mitochondrial function, metabolic and nutrient-sensing pathways, proteomic and metabolomic signatures, microbiome-associated markers, and functional measures of frailty, mobility, cognition, and resilience. We also discuss criteria for biomarker selection in exploratory and multicenter trials, emphasizing biological relevance, analytical validity, responsiveness to intervention, feasibility, reproducibility, and clinical interpretability. Finally, we outline a practical study-design roadmap integrating biospecimen collection, repeated assessments, core and exploratory biomarker panels, and functional endpoints. A biomarker-guided geroscience strategy may provide a practical route for connecting mechanistic aging biology with clinically relevant human studies designed to preserve healthspan and functional independence.
Rose SC, Rizvanov AA, Haines DD et al. Lifestyle-Associated Biomarkers of Cellular and Whole-Organism Aging: A Practical Roadmap for Human Geroscience Trials. Biomolecules. 2026. doi:10.3390/biom16101504. PMID: 42939758. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42939758/