scholarly journals Neighborhood environment, social cohesion, and epigenetic aging

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chantel L. Martin ◽  
Cavin K. Ward-Caviness ◽  
Radhika Dhingra ◽  
Tarek M. Zikry ◽  
Sandro Galea ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Neighborhood Environment ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Biological Aging ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Neighborhood Conditions ◽  
Neighborhood Poverty ◽  
Epigenetic Aging ◽  
Increased Risk

ABSTRACTLiving in adverse neighborhood environments have been linked to increased risk of aging-related diseases and mortality; however, the biological mechanisms explaining this observation remain poorly understood. DNA methylation (DNAm), a proposed biomarker of biological aging responsive to environmental stressors, offers promising insight into molecular pathways. We examined associations of three measures of neighborhood conditions (poverty, quality, and social cohesion) with three different epigenetic clocks (Horvath, Hannum, and Levine) using data from the Detroit Neighborhood Health Study (n=158). Using linear regression models, we evaluated associations in the total sample and stratified by gender and social cohesion. Differential effects by gender were found between men and women. Neighborhood poverty was associated with PhenoAge acceleration among women, but not among men (women: β = 1.4; 95% CI: −0.4, 3.3 vs. men: β = −0.3; 95% CI: −2.2, 1.5) in fully adjusted models. In models stratified on social cohesion, association of neighborhood poverty and quality with accelerated DNAm aging remained elevated for residents living in neighborhoods with lower social cohesion, but were null for those living in neighborhoods with higher social cohesion. Our study suggests that living in adverse neighborhood conditions can speed up epigenetic aging, while positive neighborhood characteristics may buffer effects.

scholarly journals Neighborhood environment, social cohesion, and epigenetic aging

Aging ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 7883-7899
Author(s):  
Chantel L. Martin ◽  
Cavin K. Ward-Caviness ◽  
Radhika Dhingra ◽  
Tarek M. Zikry ◽  
Sandro Galea ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Neighborhood Environment ◽  
Epigenetic Aging

scholarly journals Metabolomic Links Between Sweetened Beverage Intake and Obesity (OR31-05-19)

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao-Qiang Lai ◽  
Reiko Ichikawa ◽  
Bingjie Zhou ◽  
Laurence Parnell ◽  
Sabrina Noel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Metabolic Pathways ◽  
Enrichment Analysis ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Pathway Enrichment Analysis ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Obesity Risk ◽  
Pathway Enrichment ◽  
Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Increased Risk

Abstract Objectives Sweetened beverage (SB) consumption is highly associated with obesity, but the mechanism underlying this correlation is not understood. Our objective was to examine metabolomic links between SB intake and obesity to understand metabolic mechanisms. Methods We examined the association of plasma metabolomic profiles with SB intake and obesity risk in 782 participants, aged 45–75y, in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study (BPRHS) using linear regression models, controlling for potential confounding factors. Based on identified metabolites, we conducted pathway enrichment analysis to identify potential metabolic pathways that link SB intake and obesity risk. Genetic variants in identified metabolic pathways were examined for their interaction with SB intake on metabolites of interest and obesity. Interactions between SB and genotypes on obesity were evaluated for replication in the Framingham Heart Study (FHS). Results In BPRHS, SB intake was highly correlated with BMI (β = 0.455, P < 0.05). Among 526 measurable metabolites, 109 metabolites showed significant correlation with SB intake and 170 metabolites with BMI (P < 0.05); and 43 were correlated with both SB intake and BMI. Pathway enrichment analysis identified two metabolic pathways: phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and lysophospholipid pathways linking SB intake and obesity, after correction for multiple testing. Focusing on the PE pathway, we identified 12 SNPs in nine genes that were significantly associated with BMI. At least four genetic variants showed suggestive interaction with SB intake on obesity risk and obesity-associated metabolites. In particular, CC carriers of rs4646360 in the PEMT (Phosphatidylethanolamine N-Methyltransferase) gene had increased risk of obesity when consuming SB. We replicated this finding in the FHS study. Conclusions We identified two key metabolic pathways linking SB intake to obesity, revealing potential mechanisms by which SB intake increases the risk of obesity. The interaction between genetic variants in the identified pathway and SB intake on obesity and obesity-associated metabolites further supports the mechanism. Funding Sources This work was funded by the US Department of Agriculture, under agreement no. 8050-51,000-098-00D, and NIH grants P01 AG023394, P50 HL105185, and R01 AG027087.

scholarly journals Schizophrenia is characterized by age- and sex-specific effects on epigenetic aging

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anil P.S. Ori ◽  
Loes M. Olde Loohuis ◽  
Jerry Guintivano ◽  
Eilis Hannon ◽  
Emma Dempster ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Accelerated Aging ◽  
Disease Status ◽  
Risk Scores ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Biological Aging ◽  
Disease Trajectory ◽  
Clinical Biomarkers ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Epigenetic Aging ◽  
Increased Risk

AbstractSchizophrenia (SCZ) is a severe mental illness that is associated with an increased prevalence of age-related disability and morbidity compared to the general population. An accelerated aging process has therefore been hypothesized as a component of the SCZ disease trajectory. Here, we investigated differential aging using three DNA methylation (DNAm) clocks (i.e. Hannum, Horvath, Levine) in a multi-cohort SCZ whole blood sample consisting of 1,100 SCZ cases and 1,200 controls. It is known that all three DNAm clocks are highly predictive of chronological age and capture different features of biological aging. We found that blood-based DNAm aging is significantly altered in SCZ with age- and sexspecific effects that differ between clocks and map to distinct chronological age windows. Most notably, the predicted phenotypic age (Levine clock) in female cases, starting at age 36 and beyond, is 3.21 years older compared to matching control subjects (95% CI: 1.92-4.50, P=1.3e-06) explaining 7.7% of the variance in disease status. Female cases with high SCZ polygenic risk scores present the highest age acceleration in this age group with +7.03 years (95% CI: 3.87-10.18, P=1.7E-05). Since increased phenotypic age is associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality, our findings suggests that specific and identifiable patient groups are at increased mortality risk as measured by the Levine clock. These results provide new biological insights into the aging landscape of SCZ with age- and sexspecific effects and warrant further investigations into the potential of DNAm clocks as clinical biomarkers that may help with disease management in schizophrenia.

Re(Setting) Epigenetic Clocks: An Important Avenue Whereby Social Conditions Become Biologically Embedded across the Life Course

2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 436-453
Author(s):  
Ronald L. Simons ◽  
Man-Kit Lei ◽  
Eric Klopach ◽  
Mark Berg ◽  
Yue Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Biological Aging ◽  
Time To Death ◽  
Epigenetic Aging ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Sociological Studies

Research on biological embedding of the social environment has been expedited by increased availability of biomarkers. Recently, this arsenal of measures has been expanded to include epigenetic clocks that indicate in years the extent to which an individual is older or younger than their chronological age. These measures of biological aging, especially GrimAge, are robust predictors of both illness and time to death. Importantly for sociologists, several studies have linked social conditions to these indices of aging. The present study extends this research using longitudinal data from a sample of 223 black women participating in the Family and Community Health Study. We find that changes in income and living arrangements over an 11-year period predict changes in speed of biological aging. These results provide further support for the idea that epigenetic aging is a mechanism whereby social conditions become biologically embedded. The utility of epigenetic clocks for sociological studies of health are discussed.

scholarly journals Obesity and accelerated epigenetic aging in a high-risk cohort of children

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Etzel ◽  
Waylon J. Hastings ◽  
Molly A. Hall ◽  
Christine Heim ◽  
Michael J. Meaney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Continuous Variable ◽  
Cellular Aging ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Biological Aging ◽  
Blood Leukocytes ◽  
Cell Counts ◽  
Epigenetic Aging ◽  
The Impact ◽  
High Risk Cohort

Background: New insights into mechanisms linking obesity to poor health outcomes suggest a role for cellular aging pathways, casting obesity as a disease of accelerated biological aging. Although obesity has been linked to accelerated epigenetic aging in middle-aged adults, the impact during childhood remains unclear. We tested the association between body mass index (BMI) and accelerated epigenetic aging in a cohort of high-risk children. Participants were children (N=273, aged 8 to 14 years, 82% investigated for maltreatment) recruited to the Child Health Study, an ongoing prospective study of youth investigated for maltreatment and a comparison youth. BMI was measured as a continuous variable. Accelerated epigenetic aging of blood leukocytes was defined as the age-adjusted residuals of several established epigenetic aging clocks (Horvath, Hannum, GrimAge, PhenoAge) along with a newer algorithm, the DunedinPoAm, developed to quantify the pace-of-aging. Hypotheses were tested with generalized linear models. Results: Higher BMI was significantly correlated with older chronological age, maltreatment status, household income, blood cell counts, and three of the accelerated epigenetic aging measures: GrimAge (r=0.29, P<.0001), PhenoAge (r=0.25, P<.0001), and DunedinPoAm (r=0.37, P<.0001). In fully adjusted models, GrimAge (b=.06; P=.007) and DunedinPoAm (b=.0017; P<.0001) remained significantly associated with higher BMI. Maltreatment-status was not independently associated with accelerated epigenetic aging after accounting for other factors. Conclusion: In a high-risk cohort of children, higher BMI predicted epigenetic aging as assessed by two epigenetic aging clocks. These results suggest the association between obesity and accelerated epigenetic aging begins in early life, with implications for future morbidity and mortality risk.

scholarly journals The Socioeconomic Gradient in Epigenetic Aging Clocks: Evidence from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and the Health and Retirement Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren L. Schmitz ◽  
Wei Zhao ◽  
Scott M. Ratliff ◽  
Julia Goodwin ◽  
Jiacheng Miao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Risk ◽  
Neighborhood Environment ◽  
Biological Aging ◽  
Health And Retirement Study ◽  
Ethnic Study ◽  
Socioeconomic Gradient ◽  
Epigenetic Aging ◽  
Aging Studies ◽  
Health And Mortality ◽  
Retirement Study

AbstractEpigenetic clocks have been widely used to predict disease risk in multiple tissues or cells. Their success as a measure of biological aging has prompted research on the connection between epigenetic pathways of aging and the socioeconomic gradient in health and mortality. However, studies examining social correlates of epigenetic aging have yielded inconsistent results. We conducted a comprehensive, comparative analysis of associations between various dimensions of socioeconomic status (SES) (education, income, wealth, occupation, neighborhood environment, and childhood SES) and eight epigenetic clocks in two large U.S. aging studies: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) (n=1,211) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) (n=4,018). In both studies, we found robust associations between SES measures in adulthood and the GrimAge and DunedinPoAm clocks (Bonferroni corrected p-value<0.01). In the HRS, significant associations with the Levine and Yang clocks are also evident. These associations are only partially mediated by smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity, which suggests that differences in health behaviors alone cannot explain the SES gradient in epigenetic aging. Further analyses revealed concurrent associations between polygenic risk for accelerated intrinsic epigenetic aging, SES, and the Levine clock, indicating that genetic predisposition and social disadvantage may contribute independently to faster epigenetic aging.

Losing Years Doing Time: Incarceration Exposure and Accelerated Biological Aging among African American Adults

2021 ◽  
pp. 002214652110525
Author(s):  
Mark T. Berg ◽  
Ethan M. Rogers ◽  
Man-Kit Lei ◽  
Ronald L. Simons
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Accelerated Aging ◽  
Premature Mortality ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Biological Aging ◽  
Formerly Incarcerated ◽  
African American Adults ◽  
Epigenetic Aging ◽  
The Family ◽  
Using Data

Research suggests that incarceration exposure increases the prevalence of morbidity and premature mortality. This work is only beginning to examine whether the stressors of the incarceration experience become biologically embedded in ways that affect physiological deterioration. Using data from a longitudinal sample of 410 African American adults in the Family and Community Health Study and an epigenetic index of aging, this study tests the extent to which incarceration accelerates epigenetic aging and whether experiences with violence moderate this association. Results from models that adjust for selection effects suggest that incarceration exposure predicted accelerated aging, leaving formerly incarcerated African American individuals biologically older than their calendar age. Direct experiences with violence also exacerbated the effects of incarceration. These findings suggest that incarceration possibly triggers a stress response that affects a biological signature of physiological deterioration.

scholarly journals Intergenerational Trauma Transmission? Test of Cellular Aging in Mothers Exposed to Sexual Abuse and Their Children

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 143-143
Author(s):  
Laura Etzel ◽  
Waylon Hastings ◽  
Brooke Mattern ◽  
Christine Heim ◽  
Jennie Noll ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Cellular Aging ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Biological Aging ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Matched Comparison ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal

Abstract Exposure to maltreatment during childhood can lead to increased risk for poor health outcomes in adulthood. Child maltreatment and later poor health may be linked by premature biological aging. We tested whether childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is associated with telomere length (TL) in adult females. We further tested the hypothesis of intergenerational transmission of trauma by measuring TL in both CSA-exposed and non-exposed mothers and their children. TL was measured in a subset of participants and their children from a prospective-longitudinal cohort study of sexually abused females and a demographically matched comparison group. Linear regression models were used to test for associations between CSA-exposure and age-adjusted TL in females (N=108, mean age 36.3 years). Multilevel linear models were used to test the intergenerational effect of maternal-CSA exposure on age-adjusted TL in their children (N=124 children mean age 10.5 years across 61 mothers). CSA-exposure was not associated with TL in females. Replicating previous work in this area, maternal TL and sex were significant predictors of child TL in all models tested. Longer maternal TL predicted longer TL in children, and female children had longer TL than male children. Maternal-CSA exposure did not predict TL in children. This finding is in line with some previous results on CSA and TL measured in adulthood. Previous significant results associating child maltreatment with shorter TL in adulthood may be capturing a population of individuals exposed to either multiple types of maltreatment or maltreatment in childhood with concurrent TL measurements.

scholarly journals Linkage between Neighborhood Social Cohesion and BMI of South Asians in the Masala Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gagandeep Gill ◽  
Nicola Lancki ◽  
Manjit Randhawa ◽  
Semran K. Mann ◽  
Adam Arechiga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
South Asians ◽  
The United States ◽  
Neighborhood Environment ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Neighborhood Social Cohesion ◽  
Asian Men

Introduction. South Asians in the United States have a high prevalence of obesity and an elevated risk for cardiometabolic diseases. Yet, little is known about how aspects of neighborhood environment influence cardiometabolic risk factors such as body mass index (BMI) in this rapidly growing population. We aimed to investigate the association between perceived neighborhood social cohesion and BMI among South Asians. Methods. We utilized cross-sectional data from the MASALA study, a prospective community-based cohort of 906 South Asian men and women from the San Francisco Bay area and the greater Chicago area. Multivariable linear regression models, stratified by sex, were used to examine the association between perceived level of neighborhood social cohesion and individual BMI after adjusting for sociodemographics. Results. Participants were 54% male, with an average age of 55 years, 88% had at least a bachelor’s degree, and the average BMI was 26.0 kg/m2. South Asian women living in neighborhoods with the lowest social cohesion had a significantly higher BMI than women living in neighborhoods with the highest cohesion (β coefficient = 1.48, 95% CI 0.46–2.51, p=0.02); however, the association was not statistically significant after adjusting for sociodemographic factors (β coefficient = 1.06, 95% CI −0.01–2.13, p=0.05). There was no association between level of neighborhood social cohesion and BMI in South Asian men. Conclusion. Perceived neighborhood social cohesion was not significantly associated with BMI among South Asians in our study sample. Further research is recommended to explore whether other neighborhood characteristics may be associated with BMI and other health outcomes in South Asians and the mechanisms through which neighborhood may influence health.

Cardiorespiratory fitness is positively associated with both healthy and western dietary pattern in Iranian middle-aged

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Hossein Shahinfar ◽  
Farhang Djafari ◽  
Nadia Babaei ◽  
Samira Davarzani ◽  
Mojdeh Ebaditabar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiorespiratory Fitness ◽  
Dietary Patterns ◽  
Dietary Pattern ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Anthropometric Measures ◽  
Western Dietary Pattern ◽  
Healthy Dietary Pattern

Abstract. Background: The association between dietary patterns and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is not well established. Objective: We sought to investigate association between a posteriori dietary pattern and CRF in middle-aged adults. Design: Adults (n = 276), aged 20–74 years, who were residents of Tehran, Iran were recruited. Diet was assessed by using a validated 168-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Principal component analysis was used to derive dietary patterns. Socio-economic status, anthropometric measures, body composition, and blood pressure were recorded. CRF was assessed by using a graded exercise treadmill test. Analysis of variance and linear regression models were used to discern the association between dietary patterns and CRF. Results: Higher scores of the healthy dietary pattern had no association with VO2max (p = 0.13 ). After controlling for potential confounders, VO2max was positively associated across tertiles of healthy dietary patterns (p < 0.001). Higher adherence to the “mixed” dietary pattern was inversely related to VO2max (p < 0.01). After adjusting for confounders, the significant association disappeared (p = 0.14). Higher scores of the “Western” dietary pattern was not associated with VO2max (p = 0.06). However, after controlling for potential confounders, VO2max was positively associated with the “Western” dietary pattern (p = 0.01). A positive linear association between the “healthy” dietary pattern and CRF for the total sample (R2 = 0.02; p < 0.01) were presented. Conclusions: Overall, our findings suggest that higher adherence to a “healthy” and “Western” dietary pattern was positively associated with CRF. However, further studies are required to examine and clarify the causal relationship between dietary patterns and CRF.

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