About TeloYears and Telomere Testing

At Telomere Diagnostics, we are guided by our mission of supporting the health and wellbeing of our community. With these values in mind, our laboratory has shifted its resources to exclusively supplying and processing COVID-19 testing to institutions, employers, and organizations. Please note that as a result, our TeloYears DNA Test, Advanced Ancestry DNA Test, and Telomere Support Supplements will not be available for purchase until further notice.

Please check back for future developments on the availability of our TeloYears DNA Test, Advanced Ancestry DNA Test, and Telomere Support Supplements. We look forward to serving you in the future, and we thank you for standing by us in these unusual times.

Please submit your email below if you’d like us to notify you when our products are back in stock.

So what really is TeloYears?

Control how well you're aging with TeloYears, a simple, accurate DNA test that tracks your cellular age based on your current telomere length. Then learn how to improve it through a personalized, telomere science-based support program.

It starts with just a drop or two of blood that you collect from your finger at home. Then we extract DNA from your cells, analyze your average telomere length, and report your current "cellular age" based on how your telomeres compare to those of others your same age and gender. Whether your results fall in our expected, better, or improvable range, you'll get personalized guidance and the option of expert support from a TeloCoach to establish your custom lifestyle improvement plan based on decades of telomere science. Go beyond basic cholesterol tests or tracking ordinary vital signs like heart rate, and monitor the vitality of your cells. With knowledge of your DNA that empowers you with inspiration to improve and possibly slow down the clock on the aging process. Start making even smarter lifestyle decisions based on your telomere health.

What are Telomeres?

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TeloYears lets you learn and track your cellular age based on the length of your telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of your DNA strands that tend to shorten and fray with age. Imagine our DNA as a long spiral ladder with millions of rungs. Our telomeres are the last few thousand rungs on the ends of the ladder that keep it from “unzipping” as cells divide and thus protect our genes, which are made up of long stretches of rungs in the middle. Technically speaking, telomeres are repetitive stretches of the nucleotide base pair sequence TTAGGG at the ends of our chromosomes.

When we are born, our telomeres are typically at their longest. However, throughout our lives 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.

There is a large and growing body of scientific evidence showing that shorter telomeres are associated with a number of age-related diseases, and that lifestyle, genetic, environmental, and other factors can affect your telomere length.

Learn more about telomere science.

FREE WHITEPAPER:

Telomeres - a scientific overview

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.

Can my cells become younger in TeloYears?

Several studies have shown that, yes, your rate of telomere length shortening may be slowed when sustained changes to your lifestyle are made. Some studies have even suggested that telomere length may increase over time. Factors linked to telomere length include.

	Nutrition		Exercise
	Stress management		Sleep

	Exercise
	Sleep

Check out studies demonstrating that lifestyle changes lengthen telomeres.

FREE WHITEPAPER:

Representative Clinical Studies Associating Telomere Length with Disease & Wellness

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.

Find out more about how we measure your telomeres.

Our world-class lab. CLIA-certified.

Your telomere analysis is performed in our own US laboratory, which has been inspected & certified to comply with standards under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988. A CLIA-certified lab must meet high quality standards, including qualifications for staff who perform the test & process controls to ensure accurate, reliable results.

Watch & learn how our lab uses your sample to measure your telomeres.

The Telomere Diagnostics SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 Test is designed to detect the presence of the underlying virus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19, and is for use with patients who meet current guidance for evaluation. This test has not been FDA cleared or approved.

The SARS-CoV-2 RNA is generally detectable in respiratory specimens during the acute phase of infection. Positive results are indicative of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA; clinical correlation with patient history and other diagnostic information is necessary to determine patient infection status. Positive results do not rule out bacterial infection or co-infection with other viruses. The agent detected may not be the definite cause of disease. Negative results do not preclude SARS-CoV-2 infection and should not be used as the sole basis for patient treatment or other patient management decisions. Negative results must be combined with clinical observations, patient history, and epidemiological information.

Laboratories within the United States and its territories are required to report all positive (and in many cases, negative) results to the appropriate public health authorities.