Journal article
Stressful life events, social support, and epigenetic aging in the Women's Health Initiative
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS), Vol.72(2), pp.349-360
02/2024
DOI: 10.1111/jgs.18726
PMCID: PMC10922473
PMID: 38149693
Abstract
Elevated psychosocial stress has been linked with accelerated biological aging, including composite DNA methylation (DNAm) markers that predict aging-related outcomes ("epigenetic age"). However, no study has examined whether stressful life events (SLEs) are associated with epigenetic age acceleration in postmenopausal women, an aging population characterized by increased stress burden and disease risk.
We leveraged the Women's Health Initiative, a large muti-ancestry cohort of postmenopausal women with available psychosocial stress measures over the past year and epigenomic data. SLEs and social support were ascertained via self-report questionnaires. Whole blood DNAm array (450 K) data were used to calculate five DNAm-based predictors of chronological age, health span and life span, and telomere length (HorvathAge, HannumAge, PhenoAge, GrimAge, DNAmTL).
After controlling for potential confounders, higher SLE burden was significantly associated with accelerated epigenetic aging, as measured by GrimAge (β: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.08, 0.59) and DNAmTL (β: -0.016, 95% CI: -0.028, -0.004). Exploratory analyses showed that SLEs-GrimAge associations were stronger in Black women as compared to other races/ethnicities and in those with lower social support levels. In women with lower social support, SLEs-DNAmTL associations showed opposite association in Hispanic women as compared to other race/ethnicity groups.
Our findings suggest that elevated stress burden is associated with accelerated epigenetic aging in postmenopausal women. Lower social support and/or self-reported race/ethnicity may modify the association of stress with epigenetic age acceleration. These findings advance understanding of how stress may contribute to aging-related outcomes and have important implications for disease prevention and treatment in aging women.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Stressful life events, social support, and epigenetic aging in the Women's Health Initiative
- Creators
- Harlyn G Skinner - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillHelena Palma-Gudiel - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillJames D Stewart - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillShelly-Ann Love - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillParveen Bhatti - Fred Hutch Cancer CenterAladdin H Shadyab - University of California San DiegoRobert B Wallace - University of IowaElena Salmoirago-Blotcher - Brown UniversityJoAnn E Manson - Brigham and Women's HospitalCandyce H Kroenke - Kaiser PermanenteDaniel W Belsky - Columbia UniversityYun Li - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillEric A Whitsel - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillAnthony S Zannas - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS), Vol.72(2), pp.349-360
- DOI
- 10.1111/jgs.18726
- PMID
- 38149693
- PMCID
- PMC10922473
- NLM abbreviation
- J Am Geriatr Soc
- eISSN
- 1532-5415
- Grant note
- 75N92021D00002 / NHLBI NIH HHS R01-ES020836 / NIEHS NIH HHS 75N92021D00005 / NHLBI NIH HHS 75N92021D00003 / NHLBI NIH HHS HHSN268201300006C / NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL163031 / NHLBI NIH HHS NIH HHS 75N92021D00001 / NHLBI NIH HHS RF1AG074345 / NIA NIH HHS 75N92021D00004 / NHLBI NIH HHS
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 12/27/2023
- Date published
- 02/2024
- Academic Unit
- Epidemiology; Injury Prevention Research Center
- Record Identifier
- 9984536729102771
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