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Education and Lifestyle Factors Are Associated with DNA Methylation Clocks in Older African Americans

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  • Wei Zhao

    (Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA)

  • Farah Ammous

    (Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA)

  • Scott Ratliff

    (Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA)

  • Jiaxuan Liu

    (Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA)

  • Miao Yu

    (Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA)

  • Thomas H. Mosley

    (Memory Impairment and Neurodegenerative Dementia (MIND) Center, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39126, USA)

  • Sharon L. R. Kardia

    (Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA)

  • Jennifer A. Smith

    (Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
    Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA)

Abstract

DNA methylation (DNAm) clocks are important biomarkers of cellular aging and are associated with a variety of age-related chronic diseases and all-cause mortality. Examining the relationship between education and lifestyle risk factors for age-related diseases and multiple DNAm clocks can increase the understanding of how risk factors contribute to aging at the cellular level. This study explored the association between education or lifestyle risk factors for age-related diseases and the acceleration of four DNAm clocks, including intrinsic (IEAA) and extrinsic epigenetic age acceleration (EEAA), PhenoAge acceleration (PhenoAA), and GrimAge acceleration (GrimAA) in the African American participants of the Genetic Epidemiology Network of Arteriopathy. We performed both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. In cross-sectional analyses, gender, education, BMI, smoking, and alcohol consumption were all independently associated with GrimAA, whereas only some of them were associated with other clocks. The effect of smoking and education on GrimAA varied by gender. Longitudinal analyses suggest that age and BMI continued to increase GrimAA, and that age and current smoking continued to increase PhenoAA after controlling DNAm clocks at baseline. In conclusion, education and common lifestyle risk factors were associated with multiple DNAm clocks. However, the association with each risk factor varied by clock, which suggests that different clocks may capture adverse effects from different environmental stimuli.

Suggested Citation

  • Wei Zhao & Farah Ammous & Scott Ratliff & Jiaxuan Liu & Miao Yu & Thomas H. Mosley & Sharon L. R. Kardia & Jennifer A. Smith, 2019. "Education and Lifestyle Factors Are Associated with DNA Methylation Clocks in Older African Americans," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-18, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:17:p:3141-:d:261880
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gabriella Conti & James Heckman & Sergio Urzua, 2010. "The Education-Health Gradient," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 234-238, May.
    2. Cutler, David M. & Lleras-Muney, Adriana, 2010. "Understanding differences in health behaviors by education," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 1-28, January.
    3. Simone Wahl & Alexander Drong & Benjamin Lehne & Marie Loh & William R. Scott & Sonja Kunze & Pei-Chien Tsai & Janina S. Ried & Weihua Zhang & Youwen Yang & Sili Tan & Giovanni Fiorito & Lude Franke &, 2017. "Epigenome-wide association study of body mass index, and the adverse outcomes of adiposity," Nature, Nature, vol. 541(7635), pages 81-86, January.
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