The study relies on bulk PBMC data, which may obscure cell-type-specific changes and make it difficult to distinguish between changes in cell composition and cell-intrinsic changes.
Limited RNA-seq data for second breakpoint analysis
The second breakpoint analysis was only performed on ATAC-seq data due to sample sparsity in the RNA-seq data, limiting the ability to confirm the findings across different data types.
Reliance on computational inference for cell-type specific changes
The study uses computational methods to infer cell-type specific changes, which can be susceptible to biases from reference datasets and limited to available cell types.
Potential unmeasured confounders
Although the study controls for several potential confounders, there may be other unmeasured factors that contribute to observed sex differences.
Limited tissue representation
The study focuses on PBMCs, which may not fully reflect immune system aging in other tissues and organs.