Laurel Raffington1,2, Daniel W Belsky3,4. 1. Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. 2. Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. 3. Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 W 168th St. Rm 413, New York, NY, 10032, USA. Daniel.Belsky@columbia.edu. 4. Robert N Butler Columbia Aging Center, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA. Daniel.Belsky@columbia.edu.
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Acceleration of biological processes of aging is hypothesized to drive excess morbidity and mortality in socially disadvantaged populations. DNA methylation measures of biological aging provide tools for testing this hypothesis. RECENT FINDINGS: Next-generation DNA methylation measures of biological aging developed to predict mortality risk and physiological decline are more predictive of morbidity and mortality than the original epigenetic clocks developed to predict chronological age. These new measures show consistent evidence of more advanced and faster biological aging in people exposed to socioeconomic disadvantage and may be able to record the emergence of socially determined health inequalities as early as childhood. Next-generation DNA methylation measures of biological aging also indicate race/ethnic disparities in biological aging. More research is needed on these measures in samples of non-Western and non-White populations. New DNA methylation measures of biological aging open opportunities for refining inference about the causes of social disparities in health and devising policies to eliminate them. Further refining measures of biological aging by including more diversity in samples used for measurement development is a critical priority for the field.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Acceleration of biological processes of aging is hypothesized to drive excess morbidity and mortality in socially disadvantaged populations. DNA methylation measures of biological aging provide tools for testing this hypothesis. RECENT FINDINGS: Next-generation DNA methylation measures of biological aging developed to predict mortality risk and physiological decline are more predictive of morbidity and mortality than the original epigenetic clocks developed to predict chronological age. These new measures show consistent evidence of more advanced and faster biological aging in people exposed to socioeconomic disadvantage and may be able to record the emergence of socially determined health inequalities as early as childhood. Next-generation DNA methylation measures of biological aging also indicate race/ethnic disparities in biological aging. More research is needed on these measures in samples of non-Western and non-White populations. New DNA methylation measures of biological aging open opportunities for refining inference about the causes of social disparities in health and devising policies to eliminate them. Further refining measures of biological aging by including more diversity in samples used for measurement development is a critical priority for the field.
Authors: Paolo Vineis; Michelle Kelly-Irving; Stephen Rappaport; Silvia Stringhini Journal: J Epidemiol Community Health Date: 2015-08-07 Impact factor: 3.710
Authors: Brian K Kennedy; Shelley L Berger; Anne Brunet; Judith Campisi; Ana Maria Cuervo; Elissa S Epel; Claudio Franceschi; Gordon J Lithgow; Richard I Morimoto; Jeffrey E Pessin; Thomas A Rando; Arlan Richardson; Eric E Schadt; Tony Wyss-Coray; Felipe Sierra Journal: Cell Date: 2014-11-06 Impact factor: 41.582