Science & Society
Forensic Epigenetic
Age Estimation and
Beyond: Ethical and
Legal Considerations
Mahsa Shabani,1,*
Pascal Borry,1 Inge Smeers,2
and Bram Bekaert3,4
Forensic geneticists are in a race
to develop methods based on DNA
methylation for various forensic
applications, including age esti-
mation. We argue that using epige-
netic biomarkers could reveal a
broad range of health and life-style
related information, therefore it is
necessary to develop adequate
safeguards to protect the privacy
of the individuals under scrutiny.
Epigenetics Meets Forensic Age
Estimation
Innovative methods have been developed
to make predictions about one’s ancestry
and externally visible characteristics (such
as hair, skin, and eye color), for the pur-
pose of identifying the source of a biolog-
ical trace left at a crime scene. These
factors can help predict the physical
appearance of a suspect, in order to nar-
row down the suspect pool. Age estima-
tion is yet another way of narrowing down
the suspect pool, and could also be ben-
eficial in predicting what the donor of the
sample looks like.
Ageing is characterised by a large number
of biological processes, including epige-
netic changes across the genome. Age
estimation based on DNA methylation
biomarkers has recently sparked interest
from forensic scientists, as an innovative
way to improve age estimation for various
forensic purposes [1]. In this method,
DNA methylation levels are used to
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determine epigenetic age as a proxy for information could collide with the privacy
chronological age in a forensic of the sample source. The question here
investigation. is whether the current legal and ethical
frameworks sufficiently address the pri-
However, the use of DNA methylation vacy concerns associated with the use
biomarkers for age estimation may reveal of emerging methods in forensic
a broader range of health-related infor- epigenetics.
mation about the sample source. In fact,
once the sample source is identified and The Use of DNA Methylation in
the chronological age is confirmed, cal- Forensics: Ethical and Legal
culating the difference between chrono- Frameworks
logical age and epigenetic age [the Traditionally, normative documents have
so-called delta age (Dage)] can reveal adopted a precautionary approach
information associated with both cancer towards DNA analysis for forensic pur-
development and cellular ageing (e.g., poses, mainly restricting DNA analysis
oxidative stress and DNA damage) to noncoding areas of DNA. For instance,
[2,3]. Particularly, it can reveal informa- the European Council Resolution of June
tion related to cancer incidence, risk of 25, 2001, on the exchange of DNA anal-
all-cause and cause-specific mortality, ysis, states that exchange of results
frailty, post-traumatic stress disorder should be limited to DNA analysis of non-
hyperarousal symptoms, performance coding parts. Similarly, a recent report on
on lung function, cognition and grip forensic DNA databases showed that
strength measures, and neural integrity restricting DNA testing to noncoding
[4–7]. regions of the DNA is a dominant
approach across national legislations on
Similarly, a recent study has shown that a forensic DNA analysis [10].
set of markers originally developed to esti-
mate age in forensic cases can alert to the Furthermore, some jurisdictions have
presence of chronic lymphocytic leukae- addressed the permissibility of DNA phe-
mia with >85% sensitivity [8]. Conse- notyping for visible characteristics, by
quently, an online calculator was made either restricting it to specific character-
available by the authors of the study, to istics such as sex (e.g., Germany), or
compute the probability of leukaemia for a allowing a broader scope of phenotyping
given sample, without knowing the chro- to encompass externally visible traits that
nological age of the person in question, to are visible at birth (The Netherlands) [11].
avoid misleading conclusions about the
age prediction. The use of DNA methyla- Drawing distinction between coding and
tion to predict forensically informative life- noncoding areas of DNA seems predom-
style and environmental characteristics, inantly to be introduced to mitigate the
including socioeconomic status, diet, concerns about the privacy of the sample
physical activity, alcohol and drug intake, source, by preventing the extraction of
and smoking status has also been dis- hereditary information and sensitive
cussed in earlier studies [9]. genetic predispositions. However, as
has been shown earlier, a broader range
One can argue that in the context of of personal information could also be pre-
unknown samples, extracting any infor- dicted from the study of heritable changes
mation that could help identify the sample in gene expression that do not affect the
source should be considered beneficial. DNA sequence. Therefore, the distinction
However, revealing such personal between coding and noncoding areas
Trends in Genetics, July 2018, Vol. 34, No. 7 489
may not be sufficient to protect the pri- misdirected targeting of minority ethnic to what should be considered as sensitive
vacy of the individuals. groups for their DNA’ [10]. data and if limitations should be set on the
type of information that could be
Protecting the privacy of unknown sam- Concluding Remarks extracted by using epigenetic biomark-
ple sources could seem challenging, When developing new forensic applica- ers. In the view of current developments
owing to the fact that such samples tions based on DNA methylation biomark- in the field of forensic epigenetics, revisit-
may be perceived as ‘abandoned sam- ers, it is crucial to take privacy-related ing the adequacy of current regulatory
ples’, to be deprived of any privacy pro- concerns into account and develop a approaches towards the DNA analysis
tection. However, it should be noted that framework that protects all parties based on the coding/noncoding area dis-
the owners of such samples could even- involved with regard to handling personal tinction is recommended. An alternative
tually be identified either as suspects or information that may result from such approach could be to focus on the nature
witnesses at the crime scene. As Murphy analyses. and sensitivity of the data, and prohibit
puts it: ‘Even samples collected at a crime using DNA analysis for inferring informa-
scene and believed to belong to a putative One solution could be to limit the assay to tion that may infringe on the privacy of the
perpetrator may turn out instead to biomarkers that are exclusively associated sample sources.
belong to an innocent bystander, and with chronological age, for instance, and
as such, even if criminal activity is consid- not with susceptibility to disease and health Acknowledgments
ered a forfeit of genetic privacy, it will often outcome. However, this would prohibit Mahsa Shabani is supported by the Research-Foun-
not be certain ex ante that the sample researchers from obtaining the highest dation Flanders (FWO) Postdoctoral Fellowship.
came from the criminal’ [12]. possible prediction accuracy, and even 1KU Leuven – University of Leuven, Department of Public
markers with no currently known associa- Health and Primary Care, Centre for Biomedical Ethics
Another point to consider is whether the tions may be linked to health-related risks and Law, Leuven, Belgium
2
KU Leuven – University of Leuven, Department of
nature of information extracted from the through later research. Notably, avoiding Human Genetics, Laboratory of Reproductive Genomics,
samples is considered sensitive or not. risk-associated loci will become particu- Leuven, Belgium
For instance, age is usually not consid- larly difficult when the field advances KU Leuven – University of Leuven, Department of
3

Imaging & Pathology, Leuven, Belgium

ered as sensitive personal information. towards predicting lifestyle traits (such as 4KU Leuven – University of Leuven, University Hospitals
This could apply to other visible charac- smoking status) which are inherently asso- Leuven, Department of Forensic Medicine, Laboratory of
teristics such as gender, eye color, hair ciated with health risks. Forensic Genetics and Molecular Archaeology, Leuven,
Belgium
color, and height. Vidaki and Kayser
argue that ‘this reasoning may also Alternatively, rather than changing the *Correspondence:
apply to epigenetic prediction of those method itself one could put strict limitations mahsa.shabani@kuleuven.be (M. Shabani).
lifestyle factors that are obviously visi- on how the test results are reported to the https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tig.2018.03.006
ble, such as tobacco smoking, or those authorities. For instance, the predicted age
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