Social adversity and epigenetic aging: A multi-cohort study on socioeconomic differences in peripheral blood DNA methylation
Loading...
Download
Associated Records
Authors
File Licence
Editors
Date
2017-12-01
Source Title
Scientific Reports
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
NATURE PORTFOLIO
Melbourne Authors
Affiliation
Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
Document Type
Journal Article
Subject Code
Citation
Fiorito, G., Polidoro, S., Dugué, P. A., Kivimaki, M., Ponzi, E., Matullo, G., Guarrera, S., Assumma, M. B., Georgiadis, P., Kyrtopoulos, S. A., Krogh, V., Palli, D., Panico, S., Sacerdote, C., Tumino, R., Chadeau-Hyam, M., Stringhini, S., Severi, G., Hodge, A. M. ,... Vineis, P. (2017). Social adversity and epigenetic aging: A multi-cohort study on socioeconomic differences in peripheral blood DNA methylation. Scientific Reports, 7 (1), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-16391-5.
Access Status
Open Access
Access URL
Open Access URL
Open Access at PMC
Linked Resource URL
NHMRC Grant Code
ARC Grant Code
Description
Abstract
Low socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with earlier onset of age-related chronic conditions and reduced life-expectancy, but the underlying biomolecular mechanisms remain unclear. Evidence of DNA-methylation differences by SES suggests a possible association of SES with epigenetic age acceleration (AA). We investigated the association of SES with AA in more than 5,000 individuals belonging to three independent prospective cohorts from Italy, Australia, and Ireland. Low SES was associated with greater AA (β = 0.99 years; 95% CI 0.39,1.59; p = 0.002; comparing extreme categories). The results were consistent across different SES indicators. The associations were only partially modulated by the unhealthy lifestyle habits of individuals with lower SES. Individuals who experienced life-course SES improvement had intermediate AA compared to extreme SES categories, suggesting reversibility of the effect and supporting the relative importance of the early childhood social environment. Socioeconomic adversity is associated with accelerated epigenetic aging, implicating biomolecular mechanisms that may link SES to age-related diseases and longevity.