Health · Medical Research · 2 hrs ago
Two sisters turn a biological-age test into a look at their lives
Deb and Michelle agreed to compare biological-age test results after Deb heard about the test on a podcast.
The sisters, now 56 and 54, grew up together in Detroit but live in different parts of the United States.
The TruAge test costs $399 per person and uses DNA markers to estimate the functional age of the brain, heart, lungs and body.
Deb has generally been healthy, while Michelle has faced unexplained health problems, including severe fatigue, nerve pain and a rapid heartbeat linked to low blood pressure.
Michelle hoped the test might help make sense of her health struggles, after years of feeling that doctors did not listen to her.
The test is intended to show how genes and life experiences relate to aging, but the account does not give the sisters’ results.
The sisters had been estranged for nearly two decades before reconnecting a few years ago, and the test offered a chance to do something together.
Deb proposed that she and her sister Michelle take a biological-age test and compare their results.
The TruAge test costs $399 per person and uses a blood sample to assess biological age.
Deb hoped the test might help Michelle understand her unexplained health problems.
The sisters share about half their DNA but have different lifestyles and health histories.
They had resumed contact only a few years earlier after being estranged for nearly two decades.
- Who
- Sisters Deb, 56, and Michelle, 54.
- What
- They agreed to take the TruAge biological-age test and compare their results.
- When
- Deb sent Michelle the idea in a text at 5:25 a.m.; the date is not stated.
- Where
- The sisters grew up in Detroit; Deb lives in Virginia and Michelle in California’s Central Valley.
- Why
- Deb thought the test might offer insight into how their habits and experiences affected their aging, and possibly help Michelle understand her health problems.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Deb and Michelle stopped speaking after a fight.
The sisters resumed contact.
Deb texted Michelle proposing that they take a biological-age test together.
Michelle agreed, while saying she was afraid of the results.
- Test
- TruAge
- Cost
- $399 per sister
- Sample
- Blood
- Age
- Deb was 56; Michelle was 54
- Shared DNA
- About half
- Past estrangement
- Nearly two decades
What people are saying
I think it would be really interesting to compare the test results between siblings. Are you up for it?
Yes, I’d love to. But I’m afraid of the results.