Year: 2021
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Living in adverse neighborhood environments has been linked to risk of aging-related diseases and mortality; however, the biological mechanisms explaining this observation remain poorly understood. DNA methylation (DNAm), a proposed mechanism and biomarker of biological aging responsive to environmental stressors, offers promising insight into potential molecular pathways. We examined associations between three neighborhood social environment measures (poverty, quality, and social cohesion) and three epigenetic clocks (Horvath, Hannum, and PhenoAge) using data from the Detroit Neighborhood Health Study (n=158). Using linear regression models, we evaluated associations in the total sample and stratified by sex and social cohesion. Neighborhood quality was associated with accelerated DNAm aging for Horvath age acceleration (β = 1.8; 95% CI: 0.4, 3.1), Hannum age acceleration (β = 1.7; 95% CI: 0.4, 3.0), and PhenoAge acceleration (β = 2.1; 95% CI: 0.4, 3.8). In models stratified on social cohesion, associations of neighborhood poverty and quality with accelerated DNAm aging remained elevated for residents living in neighborhoods with lower social cohesion, but were null for those living in neighborhoods with higher social cohesion. Our study suggests that living in adverse neighborhood environments can speed up epigenetic aging, while positive neighborhood attributes may buffer effects.
Source: Aging
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: CAREER: Predicting cell fate from cell history: theory, experiment, and outreach, Epigenetic mechanisms of prenatal environmental stressors and offspring obesity risk, Ecologic Stressors, PTSD, and Drug Use in Detroit, Candidate Epigenetic Biomarkers For PTSD: Insights From Detroit, The Add Health Epigenome Resource: Life course stressors and epigenomic modifications in adulthood, Population Research Training, UNC Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility, Epigenomic Predictors of PTSD and Traumatic Stress in an African American Cohort
OpenAlex ID: W3137162145