Telomere Testing (TeloYears)

TeloYears Blueprint for Aging Well – A Special Added Value!

Your TeloYears test results come with the TeloYears Blueprint for Aging Well, which distills decades of scientific evidence into one simple, tabulated, and value added resource for those feeling inspired to take action and get the most out of TeloYears. This insightful and value-added tool includes:

• A Self-assessment tool that helps you become more aware of specific and actionable lifestyle factors that may affect your age in TeloYears and inspire more active engagement in managing them.
• Detailed explanations to help better understand how oxidative stress, inflammation, lifestyle, and other factors can accelerate telomere shortening.
• Action plan suggestions related to eating well, physical activity, stress, sleep, and more ranging from novice to expert (consult with your doctor before taking any action).
• A deep dive into the science of telomeres, its history, practical uses and limitations, and its role in a number of age-related diseases.

Telomere Science

Decades of research have shown the critical role that Telomeres play in our health and longevity

When we are born, generally our telomeres are at their longest. However, with age and exposures to various sources of oxidative stress throughout our lifetimes, telomeres gradually shorten, until cells can no longer divide. This shortening process acts as an aging clock counting down the remaining life of the cell.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009 was awarded jointly to Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak "for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase."

Dr. Blackburn accepts the Nobel Prize from King Carl Gustaf XVI of Sweden

Dr. John Westerdahl with Nobel Laureate and Telomere Researcher Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn
(See Video Telomere Science Lectures and Interviews with Dr. Blackburn at Bottom of Page)

There is a large and growing body of scientific publications supporting the role of telomere length in aging, with longer telomeres being associated with aging well. On the other hand, shorter telomeres are associated with increased risk of age-related diseases and mortality. Genetic, lifestyle, environmental, and other factors can affect your average telomere length, which makes it a good overall measure of your health and longevity. Knowing your telomere length gives you a uniquely integrated view of these factors and allows you to make improvements.

Cell Division and Telomeres

For our bodies to heal and function properly, cells must divide to replace old, worn out cells and telomeres protect our DNA and prevent genomic instability during this division. Telomeres allow our cells to divide without damaging or scrambling the cells' genetic information. Telomeres are a key part of the process that ensures DNA is accurately copied as your cells divide and reproduce.

When we are born, our telomeres are at their longest. However, throughout our lives, every time our cells divide, the telomeres shorten. At every cell division, telomeres lose a bit of their DNA until, over time, the cell cannot replicate and becomes “senescent,” which is the cellular equivalent of aging. This shortening process acts as an aging clock for the lifetime of the cell.

What does the age of my cells in TeloYears mean?

The age of your cells in TeloYears is the actual age of the typical man or woman whose telomere length is similar to yours. Like cholesterol, BMI, or blood pressure, your telomere length is a useful biomarker for monitoring the vitality of your cells so that you can improve and better control--perhaps not how old you are--but how well you're aging. Whether the age of your cells in TeloYears is older or younger than your actual age, you can use your results to improve your overall health by finding in them the motivation to take steps to slow down the clock on the aging process by changing certain lifestyle behaviors that have been shown to associate with telomere length, including nutrition, exercise, sleep, or stress management.

Your TeloYears results can also be used, through repeat testing, to track how your choices are affecting your aging as studies have demonstrated that lifestyle choices can have an impact on telomere length.

How is the age of my cells in TeloYears calculated?

Generally speaking, the age of your cells in TeloYears is the actual age of a typical man or woman whose telomere length is similar to yours. More specifically, it is calculated using a complex formula that was built by our mathematicians based on the following process.

First, we measured average telomere length on a statistically large enough number of people (over 10,000 subjects) so as to construct a nationally representative population. Next we built a mathematical model or formula by applying statistical methods to the population level results, including regression and variance analysis of the means and distributions of relevant sub populations. Then, we compare the formula’s projected average telomere length for the typical person your actual age and gender to your own measured telomere length. Finally, your cells' age in TeloYears is determined based on where your telomere length falls on a distribution curve, which establishes a confidence interval around the formula’s projected mean for you based on the variance inherent in our method of measuring telomere length. Likewise, we use this model to calculate the percentile score your telomere length represents as compared to a typical man or woman of your actual age.