TY - JOUR
T1 - Early-life socioeconomic disadvantage, not current, predicts accelerated epigenetic aging of monocytes
AU - Austin, Makeda K.
AU - Chen, Edith
AU - Ross, Kharah M.
AU - McEwen, Lisa M.
AU - Maclsaac, Julia L.
AU - Kobor, Michael S.
AU - Miller, Gregory E.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank the study participants and the NIH Grants R01 HD058502 and R01 HL122328 for supporting this project. We also thank Rachel Edgar and Nicole Gladish for their assistance on this project.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018
PY - 2018/11
Y1 - 2018/11
N2 - Low socioeconomic status (SES) in early-life and adulthood independently contribute to increased risk for aging-related chronic diseases. One mechanistic hypothesis for these associations involves faster cellular aging of immune cells, which could plausibly contribute to chronic disease pathogenesis by compromising host resistance and/or up-regulating inflammation. However, little is known about the association between life-course SES and cellular aging. The present study examines the association of early-life and current SES with a novel biomarker of cellular aging termed the “epigenetic clock,” in monocytes. Additionally, we examine health behaviors and depressive symptoms as potential explanatory pathways. The study involved 335 participants between the ages of 15 and 55 from Vancouver, Canada and surrounding areas. Enrolled participants had to fit into four life-course SES trajectories, corresponding to low-low, low-high, high-low and high-high combinations of early-life (ages 0 to 5) and current SES respectively. Cellular aging of monocytes was measured using Horvath's DNA methylation derived measure of epigenetic age acceleration. Results indicated that socioeconomic disadvantage during early-life, but not later in life, was associated with accelerated epigenetic aging of monocytes. No early-life SES by current SES interaction was detected, suggesting that socioeconomic mobility is unrelated to epigenetic age acceleration. In path analyses, neither current health behaviors nor current depressive symptoms emerged as mediators of the early-life SES effect. These findings suggest socioeconomic disadvantage in early-life is independently predictive of cellular aging of immune cells, with potential implications for aging-related diseases later in life.
AB - Low socioeconomic status (SES) in early-life and adulthood independently contribute to increased risk for aging-related chronic diseases. One mechanistic hypothesis for these associations involves faster cellular aging of immune cells, which could plausibly contribute to chronic disease pathogenesis by compromising host resistance and/or up-regulating inflammation. However, little is known about the association between life-course SES and cellular aging. The present study examines the association of early-life and current SES with a novel biomarker of cellular aging termed the “epigenetic clock,” in monocytes. Additionally, we examine health behaviors and depressive symptoms as potential explanatory pathways. The study involved 335 participants between the ages of 15 and 55 from Vancouver, Canada and surrounding areas. Enrolled participants had to fit into four life-course SES trajectories, corresponding to low-low, low-high, high-low and high-high combinations of early-life (ages 0 to 5) and current SES respectively. Cellular aging of monocytes was measured using Horvath's DNA methylation derived measure of epigenetic age acceleration. Results indicated that socioeconomic disadvantage during early-life, but not later in life, was associated with accelerated epigenetic aging of monocytes. No early-life SES by current SES interaction was detected, suggesting that socioeconomic mobility is unrelated to epigenetic age acceleration. In path analyses, neither current health behaviors nor current depressive symptoms emerged as mediators of the early-life SES effect. These findings suggest socioeconomic disadvantage in early-life is independently predictive of cellular aging of immune cells, with potential implications for aging-related diseases later in life.
KW - Epigenetic aging
KW - Immune
KW - Socioeconomic status (SES)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85049785569&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.07.007
DO - 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.07.007
M3 - Journal Article
C2 - 30016711
AN - SCOPUS:85049785569
SN - 0306-4530
VL - 97
SP - 131
EP - 134
JO - Psychoneuroendocrinology
JF - Psychoneuroendocrinology
ER -