Developing a DNA methylation assay for human age prediction in blood and bloodstain

Highlights • For human age prediction based on blood five AR-CpGs were selected from thirty-eight candidate markers by pyrosequencing. • Three AR-CpG markers were never reported in previous studies and two of which were included in our DNA methylation assay. • Final linear regression model was established based on methylation assay for age prediction with R2 = 0.819, MAD = 7.870. • It was evident that our DNA methylation assay was applicable to human age prediction in blood and bloodstain.