Economic impact of biomarker-based aging interventions on healthcare costs and individual value

Abstract

We investigate the economic impact of controlling the pace of aging through biomarker monitoring and targeted interventions. Using the DunedinPACE epigenetic clock as a measure of biological aging rate, we model how different intervention scenarios affect frailty trajectories and their subsequent influence on healthcare costs, lifespan, and health quality. Our model demonstrates that controlling DunedinPACE from age 50 onward can reduce frailty prevalence, resulting in cumulative healthcare savings of up to CHF 131,608 per person over 40 years in our most optimistic scenario. From an individual perspective, the willingness to pay for such interventions reaches CHF 3.2 million in the most optimistic scenario when accounting for both extended lifespan and improved health quality. When the direct cost of epigenetic testing is included, the healthcare-system case is sensitive to test price and testing frequency, whereas the individual-value case remains strongly positive. These findings suggest substantial economic value in technologies that can monitor and modify biological aging rates, providing evidence for both healthcare systems and consumer-focused business models in longevity medicine.