We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Epigenetic Aging and Racialized, Economic, and Environmental Injustice: NIMHD Social Epigenomics Program.
- Authors
Krieger, Nancy; Testa, Christian; Chen, Jarvis T.; Johnson, Nykesha; Watkins, Sarah Holmes; Suderman, Matthew; Simpkin, Andrew J.; Tilling, Kate; Waterman, Pamela D.; Coull, Brent A.; De Vivo, Immaculata; Smith, George Davey; Diez Roux, Ana V.; Relton, Caroline
- Abstract
Key Points: Question: Is accelerated epigenetic aging associated with exposure to racialized, economic, and environmental injustice? Findings: In the US cross-sectional My Body My Story (MBMS) and Multi-Ethnic Atherosclerosis Study (MESA) studies, epigenetic accelerated aging was associated with Jim Crow birth state (MBMS: Black non-Hispanic participants), low parental educational level (MBMS: Black and White non-Hispanic participants), and adult impoverishment (MESA: Black non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and White non-Hispanic participants). Meaning: These findings suggest that epigenetic accelerated aging may be a biological pathway for embodying racialized and economic injustice. This cross-sectional study assesses whether socially structured adversity is associated with increased epigenetic accelerated aging among US-born Black non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and White non-Hispanic adults. Importance: Epigenetic age acceleration is associated with exposure to social and economic adversity and may increase the risk of premature morbidity and mortality. However, no studies have included measures of structural racism, and few have compared estimates within or across the first and second generation of epigenetic clocks. Objective: To determine whether epigenetic age acceleration is positively associated with exposures to diverse measures of racialized, economic, and environmental injustice measured at different levels and time periods. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study used data from the My Body My Story (MBMS) study between August 8, 2008, and December 31, 2010, and examination 5 of the Multi-Ethnic Atherosclerosis Study (MESA) from April 1, 2010, to February 29, 2012. In the MBMS, DNA extraction was performed in 2021; linkage of structural measures to the MBMS and MESA, in 2022. US-born individuals were randomly selected from 4 community health centers in Boston, Massachusetts (MBMS), and 4 field sites in Baltimore, Maryland; Forsyth County, North Carolina; New York City, New York; and St Paul, Minnesota (MESA). Data were analyzed from November 13, 2021, to August 31, 2023. Main Outcomes and Measures: Ten epigenetic clocks (6 first-generation and 4 second-generation), computed using DNA methylation data (DNAm) from blood spots (MBMS) and purified monocytes (MESA). Results: The US-born study population included 293 MBMS participants (109 men [37.2%], 184 women [62.8%]; mean [SD] age, 49.0 [8.0] years) with 224 Black non-Hispanic and 69 White non-Hispanic participants and 975 MESA participants (492 men [50.5%], 483 women [49.5%]; mean [SD] age, 70.0 [9.3] years) with 229 Black non-Hispanic, 191 Hispanic, and 555 White non-Hispanic participants. Of these, 140 (11.0%) exhibited accelerated aging for all 5 clocks whose estimates are interpretable on the age (years) scale. Among Black non-Hispanic MBMS participants, epigenetic age acceleration was associated with being born in a Jim Crow state by 0.14 (95% CI, 0.003-0.27) SDs and with birth state conservatism by 0.06 (95% CI, 0.01-0.12) SDs, pooling across all clocks. Low parental educational level was associated with epigenetic age acceleration, pooling across all clocks, for both Black non-Hispanic (0.24 [95% CI, 0.08-0.39] SDs) and White non-Hispanic (0.27 [95% CI, 0.03-0.51] SDs) MBMS participants. Adult impoverishment was positively associated with the pooled second-generation clocks among the MESA participants (Black non-Hispanic, 0.06 [95% CI, 0.01-0.12] SDs; Hispanic, 0.07 [95% CI, 0.01-0.14] SDs; White non-Hispanic, 0.05 [95% CI, 0.01-0.08] SDs). Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this cross-sectional study of MBMS and MESA participants suggest that epigenetic age acceleration was associated with racialized and economic injustice, potentially contributing to well-documented inequities in premature mortality. Future research should test the hypothesis that epigenetic accelerated aging may be one of the biological mechanisms underlying the well-documented elevated risk of premature morbidity and mortality among social groups subjected to racialized and economic injustice.
- Subjects
CROSS-sectional method; PARENTS; BODY mass index; DATA analysis; RESEARCH funding; EPIGENOMICS; SEX distribution; AGE distribution; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; GENES; RACISM; AGING; ECONOMIC impact; ENVIRONMENTAL justice; STATISTICS; HEALTH equity; CONFIDENCE intervals; DATA analysis software; TIME; EDUCATIONAL attainment
- Publication
JAMA Network Open, 2024, Vol 7, Issue 7, pe2421832
- ISSN
2574-3805
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.21832