Felix P Chilunga1, Peter Henneman2, Hannah R Elliott3, H Toinét Cronjé4, Gagandeep K Walia5, Karlijn A C Meeks6, Ana Requena-Mendez7, Andrea Venema2, Silver Bahendeka8, Ina Danquah9, Adebowale Adeyemo6, Kerstin Klipstein-Grobusch10, Marlien Pieters11, Marcels M A M Mannens2, Charles Agyemang1. 1. Department of Public Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam University Medical Centres, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 2. Department of Clinical Genetics, Amsterdam Reproduction & Development research institute, Amsterdam University Medical Centres, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 3. MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom; Department of population health sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom. 4. Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Centre of Excellence for Nutrition, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa. 5. Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, India. 6. Center for Research on Genomics and Global Health, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America. 7. Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden. 8. Department of Medicine, MKPGMS-Uganda Martyrs University, Kampala, Uganda. 9. Heidelberg Institute of Global Health (HIGH), Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. 10. Julius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherland; Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. 11. Medical Research Council Unit for Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: African populations are experiencing health transitions due to rapid urbanization and international migration. However, the role of biological aging in this emerging burden of cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) among migrant and non-migrant Africans is unknown. We aimed to examine differences in epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) as measured by four clocks (Horvath, Hannum, PhenoAge and GrimAge) and their associations with cardiometabolic factors among migrant Ghanaians in Europe and non-migrant Ghanaians. METHODS: Genome-wide DNA methylation (DNAm) data of 712 Ghanaians from cross-sectional RODAM study were used to quantify EAA. We assessed correlation of DNAmAge measures with chronological age, and then performed linear regressions to determine associations of body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose (FBG), blood pressure, alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, and one-carbon metabolism nutrients with EAA among migrant and non-migrants. We replicated our findings among 172 rural-urban sibling pairs from India migration study and among 120 native South Africans from PURE-SA-NW study. FINDINGS: We found that Ghanaian migrants have lower EAA than non-migrants. Within migrants, higher FBG was positively associated with EAA measures. Within non-migrants, higher BMI, and Vitamin B9 (folate) intake were negatively associated with EAA measures. Our findings on FBG, BMI and folate were replicated in the independent cohorts. INTERPRETATION: Our study shows that migration is negatively associated with EAA among Ghanaians. Moreover, cardiometabolic factors are differentially associated with EAA within migrant and non-migrant subgroups. Our results call for context-based interventions for CMD among transitioning populations that account for effects of biological aging. FUNDING: European Commission.
BACKGROUND: African populations are experiencing health transitions due to rapid urbanization and international migration. However, the role of biological aging in this emerging burden of cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) among migrant and non-migrant Africans is unknown. We aimed to examine differences in epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) as measured by four clocks (Horvath, Hannum, PhenoAge and GrimAge) and their associations with cardiometabolic factors among migrant Ghanaians in Europe and non-migrant Ghanaians. METHODS: Genome-wide DNA methylation (DNAm) data of 712 Ghanaians from cross-sectional RODAM study were used to quantify EAA. We assessed correlation of DNAmAge measures with chronological age, and then performed linear regressions to determine associations of body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose (FBG), blood pressure, alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, and one-carbon metabolism nutrients with EAA among migrant and non-migrants. We replicated our findings among 172 rural-urban sibling pairs from India migration study and among 120 native South Africans from PURE-SA-NW study. FINDINGS: We found that Ghanaian migrants have lower EAA than non-migrants. Within migrants, higher FBG was positively associated with EAA measures. Within non-migrants, higher BMI, and Vitamin B9 (folate) intake were negatively associated with EAA measures. Our findings on FBG, BMI and folate were replicated in the independent cohorts. INTERPRETATION: Our study shows that migration is negatively associated with EAA among Ghanaians. Moreover, cardiometabolic factors are differentially associated with EAA within migrant and non-migrant subgroups. Our results call for context-based interventions for CMD among transitioning populations that account for effects of biological aging. FUNDING: European Commission.
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