Array-Based Epigenetic Aging Indices May Be Racially Biased

Robert Philibert; Steven R.H Beach; Man-Kit Lei; Frederick X Gibbons; Meg Gerrard; Ronald L Simons; Meeshanthini V Dogan

doi:10.3390/genes11060685

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Array-Based Epigenetic Aging Indices May Be Racially Biased

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Array-Based Epigenetic Aging Indices May Be Racially Biased

Robert Philibert, Steven R.H Beach, Man-Kit Lei, Frederick X Gibbons, Meg Gerrard, Ronald L Simons and Meeshanthini V Dogan

Genes, Vol.11(6), p.685

06/01/2020

DOI: 10.3390/genes11060685

PMID: 32580526

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Abstract

Epigenetic aging (EA) indices are frequently used as predictors of mortality and other important health outcomes. However, each of the commonly used array-based indices has significant heritable components which could tag ethnicity and potentially confound comparisons across racial and ethnic groups. To determine if this was possible, we examined the relationship of DNA methylation in cord blood from 203 newborns (112 African American (AA) and 91 White) at the 513 probes from the Levine PhenoAge Epigenetic Aging index to ethnicity. Then, we examined all sites significantly associated with race in the newborn sample to determine if they were also associated with an index of ethnic genetic heritage in a cohort of 505 AA adults. After Bonferroni correction, methylation at 50 CpG sites was significantly associated with ethnicity in the newborn cohort. The five most significant sites predicted ancestry with a receiver operator characteristic area under the curve of 0.97. Examination of the top 50 sites in the AA adult cohort showed that methylation status at 11 of those sites was also associated with percentage European ancestry. We conclude that the Levine PhenoAge Index is influenced by cryptic ethnic-specific genetic influences. This influence may extend to similarly constructed EA indices and bias cross-race comparisons.

DNA methylation

healthcare disparities

epigenetics

epigenetic aging

Details

Title: Subtitle: Array-Based Epigenetic Aging Indices May Be Racially Biased
Creators: Robert Philibert - Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
Steven R.H Beach - Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
Man-Kit Lei - Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
Frederick X Gibbons - Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06268, USA
Meg Gerrard - Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06268, USA
Ronald L Simons - Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
Meeshanthini V Dogan - Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Genes, Vol.11(6), p.685
DOI: 10.3390/genes11060685
PMID: 32580526
NLM abbreviation: Genes (Basel)
ISSN: 2073-4425
eISSN: 2073-4425
Publisher: MDPI
Grant note: DOI: 10.13039/100000009, name: National Institutes of Health, award: AG055393, CA0220254
Language: English
Date published: 06/01/2020
Academic Unit: Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering; Psychiatry; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984070890302771

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