Year: 2025
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Orell, V. 2025. The association between metabolic syndrome risk factors and epigenetic aging among women. Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Gerontology and Public Health, Master’s thesis, 40 pages. Biological aging progresses individually. Many different measures are used to estimate biological age. Currently, epigenetic clocks are considered one of the most accurate indicators of biological age. Epigenetic clocks are based on statistical modeling of DNA methylation levels. They are predictive models for chronological age or other manifestations of aging. Both heredity and unhealthy lifestyles are associated with faster epigenetic aging. In turn, accelerated epigenetic aging predicts a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of risk factors that predispose to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. The risk factors for MetS have been defined as being overweight, with particular focus on abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia (hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL cholesterol), high blood pressure, and increased fasting blood sugar. This thesis aimed to examine whether metabolic syndrome and the risk factors for MetS are associated with epigenetic aging determined by the GrimAge epigenetic clock. The thesis used data from the Estrogenic Regulation of Muscle Apoptosis (ERMA) study. The sample included 47 menopausal women whose DNA methylation data was available. The average chronological age for women was 51.3 years. MetS risk factors were measured using IDF/AHA definition thresholds. Epigenetic aging was determined by GrimAge, which utilized DNA methylation levels determined from blood DNA samples. The normal distribution of the variables was examined using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used for the analysis. None of the participants fulfilled the criteria of MetS diagnosis. The study's main result showed that MetS risk factors have no association with epigenetic aging in middle-aged women. The study participants' epigenetic aging rate as determined by the GrimAge algorithm had accelerated in five participants. On average, the subjects were nearly three years younger than their chronological age. For MBO risk factors, only the association of triglyceride level and epigenetic aging was close to p-value <0,05 (0,054), however, this was not statistically significant. More research is needed with larger, more heterogeneous datasets and among older participants. Keywords: metabolic syndrome, epigenetic clock, DNA methylation age, epigenetic aging, biological aging
Author: Orell, Virpi
Institution: University of Jyväskylä
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7067431312