BACKGROUND: Epigenetic biomarkers of aging (the ''epigenetic clock'') have the potential to address puzzling findings surrounding mortality rates and incidence of cardio-metabolic disease such as: (1) women consistently exhibiting lower mortality than men despite having higher levels of morbidity; (2) racial/ethnic groups having different mortality rates even after adjusting for socioeconomic differences; (3) the black/white mortality cross-over effect in late adulthood; and (4) Hispanics in the...

Monoclonal B cell lymphocytosis (MBL) is both a marker of immune senescence and a potential precursor of B cell malignancy. Most MBL populations have a chronic lymphocytic leukemia-like (CLL-like) immunophenotype, but those that are CD5-negative (non-CLL-like) are also recognized and may represent a distinct diagnostic entity. To date, MBL studies have taken place in relatively homogenous populations, although risk of CLL varies across racial groups and geographic regions. We report flow cytomet...