Dietary Fatty Acids and Epigenetic Aging in US Adults: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Fatty acids are involved in disease risk and aging processes. In the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2002), we tested for associations of total, saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA), polyunsaturated (PUFA), and subtypes of dietary fatty acids with DNA methylation-based aging biomarkers, adjusting for age, BMI, total energy intake, and sociodemographic and behavioral factors (N=2,260). Higher SFA and MUFA were associated with greater GrimAge2, an aging biomarker of mortality; PUFA was associated with lower Horvath1, Hannum, and PhenoAge (<0.

The Impact of Federal and State Laws on Cardiovascular Risk.

Purpose Of Review: To summarize recent studies examining the impact of federal and state laws on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.

Recent Findings: We identified 38 relevant studies that were published in the past five years. Results of the narrative review indicate that laws related to structural racism, education, income, healthcare, the food environment, food insecurity, the built environment, transportation, air pollution, tobacco, alcohol, diet, and physical activity may impact CVD risk.

Racial inequities in the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events in ELSA-Brasil cohort: the mediating role of weathering.

Background: The weathering hypothesis proposes that chronic exposure to social disadvantage leads to earlier onset of age-related diseases, explaining, in part, greater CVD disadvantages of racialized groups. The investigation of such a hypothesis is incipient in Brazil, a society strongly marked by racism. We investigated whether racism is associated with incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and the extent to which weathering explained this association in Brazilian adults.

Racial and ethnic differences in epigenetic aging: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2002.

Background: Accelerated biological aging due to differences in socially patterned exposures has been proposed as a mechanism underlying racial and ethnic disparities in morbidity and mortality. Research exploring this hypothesis has been limited by a lack of consensus regarding the measurement of biological aging.

Objective: The goal of this study is to examine self-reported race and ethnicity as a predictor of 13 measures of epigenetic aging.

Cumulative loneliness and memory function among U.S. older adults: the role of depressive symptoms.

Background: This study aimed to investigate whether depressive symptoms mediate the association between cumulative loneliness and memory function during aging.

Methods: Data were from 4779 adults aged over 50 in the U.S.

Biological Mechanisms for Allen's Rule: DNA Methylation as Mediator of the Association Between In Utero Exposure to Environmental Heat and Tibial Growth in Childhood.

Objectives: Understanding human phenotypic plasticity in response to social, ecosystem, and climate interactions can be an important tool for designing social and public health strategies that increase climate change resilience. Sensitivity of the tibia to environmental perturbations is well established; moreover, Allen's rule predicts relatively longer tibial length in hotter climates. In this study, we hypothesized DNA methylation (DNAm) changes as potential mechanisms for impacts of environmental heat exposure in utero persisting in childhood tibial growth in Kenyan Samburu pastoralist children ages 1.

One-carbon metabolism-related compounds are associated with epigenetic aging biomarkers: results from the cross-sectional National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2002.

Background: One-carbon metabolism (OCM), a biochemical pathway dependent on micronutrients including B vitamins, plays an essential role in aging-related physiological processes. DNA methylation-based aging biomarkers may be influenced by OCM.

Objectives: This study investigated associations of OCM-related biomarkers with epigenetic aging biomarkers in the cross-sectional National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2002).

Epigenetic age among US adults with chronic respiratory diseases: results from NHANES 1999-2002.

https://bit.ly/3SpNdHK

Sensory impairments and epigenetic aging: insights from self-rated hearing and vision in United States adults.

Sensory impairments are common with aging, but studies examining the relationships of these impairments with DNA methylation-based biomarkers of aging, strong predictors of morbidity and mortality, remain sparse. We investigated whether subjective measures of sensory impairment are associated with epigenetic age biomarkers. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis in a representative sample of 2344 U.

Health insurance and epigenetic aging: Trends in a United States adult population.

Background: Health insurance plays an important role in reducing morbidity and mortality. Still, there is limited data examining the relationships of health insurance with biomarkers of aging that reflect morbidity and mortality risk.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of United States adults using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to examine the relationships of health insurance with seven DNA methylation-based biomarkers of aging (epigenetic age): HannumAge, HorvathAge, SkinBloodAge, PhenoAge, GrimAge2, DNAm Telomere Length, and DunedinPoAm.

Associations of epigenetic aging with self-rated health, access to care, and healthcare utilization in a representative sample of United States adults.

Background: Health status is closely linked to both healthcare access and utilization. While previous research has identified associations between health status and DNA methylation-based biomarkers of aging (epigenetic aging), studies exploring these relationships in the context of healthcare access and utilization remain limited. To address this gap, we analyzed cross-sectional associations in a representative sample of 2,343 U.

Sex-specific associations between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance exposure and epigenetic age: Findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey 1999-2000.

Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a pervasive family of synthetic compounds with a wide range of reported health effects. Epigenetic clocks, DNA methylation-based predictors of chronological and biological age, are promising biomarkers for characterizing biological aging in humans. The potential impact of PFAS exposure on epigenetic aging in the general US population remains unclear.

Depressive symptoms partially mediate the relationship between psychosocial factors and epigenetic age acceleration in a multi-racial/ethnic sample of older adults.

Unlabelled: Psychosocial factors, including cumulative psychosocial stress and loneliness, have been linked to epigenetic aging in older adults. Further, depressive symptoms have established relationships with both psychosocial factors and epigenetic aging. However, it is not known whether depressive symptoms mediate the association between psychosocial factors and epigenetic aging.

Influence of race, ethnicity, and sex on the performance of epigenetic predictors of phenotypic traits.

Background: DNA methylation-based predictors of phenotypic traits including leukocyte proportions, smoking activity, biological aging, and circulating levels of plasma proteins are widely used as biomarkers in public health research. However, limited racial and ethnic diversity of research participants is an ongoing issue for epigenetics research, and the potential downstream impacts of limited diversity in training samples on the performance of epigenetic predictors remains poorly understood. We examined the performance of epigenetic predictors of chronological age (also known as epigenetic clocks), telomere length, cell proportions, and plasma proteins within a diverse sample of adult NHANES participants during the 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 survey cycles, both overall and stratified by self-reported race/ethnicity and sex.

Comparing Veteran and Nonveteran Epigenetic Aging in a Representative Sample of United States Adults.

Introduction: Military service can significantly impact human health, with research showing that veterans experience higher mortality rates than the general population. However, limited data exist on the relationships of veteran status with biomarkers of aging that may precede clinical illness and mortality.

Methods: Using survey-design weighted generalized linear regression models, we examined the cross-sectional relationship of self-reported veteran status with DNA methylation (DNAm)-based biomarkers of aging (epigenetic age) in a representative sample of 2344 U.

Association between behavioural risk factors for hypertension and concordance with the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension dietary pattern among South Asians in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) study.

South Asians are among the fastest-growing immigrant population group in the United States (U.S.) with a unique disease risk profile.

Immigrant status and citizenship relationships with epigenetic aging in a representative sample of United States adults.

Background: Immigrant status and citizenship influence health and well-being, yet their associations with DNA methylation (DNAm)-based biomarkers of aging - key predictors of healthspan and lifespan, also known as epigenetic aging - remain underexplored.

Methods: Using a representative sample of 2,336 United States (U.S.

Intersectional structural oppression as a fundamental cause: Reflections on implementing a medical-legal partnership project.

Objective: Intersectional and structural intervention approaches are critical to addressing health inequities experienced by transgender and gender diverse (trans) populations. In this commentary, we reflect on the implementation of a community-led, medical-legal partnership project designed to address barriers to legal gender affirmation and improve health outcomes for trans women of color with criminal records in Detroit.

Method: We initiated a partnership between a community health center and legal advocacy organization to address the health-harming legal needs of five trans women of color with criminal records via attorney support and financial assistance.

Timing of menarche and menopause and epigenetic aging among U.S. adults: results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2002.

Reproductive aging, including timing of menarche and menopause, influences long-term morbidity and mortality in women, yet underlying biological mechanisms remain poorly understood. Using DNA methylation-based biomarkers, we assessed associations of age at menarche (N = 1,033) and menopause (N = 658) with epigenetic aging in a nationally representative sample of women ≥ 50 years. Later age at menopause was associated with lower GrimAge epigenetic age deviation ( = - 0.

Drought-compounded stress and immune function in Kenyan pastoralist boys and girls occupying contrasting climate zones.

Background And Aim: We provide ethnographic, photovoice, and psychosocial stress data (food and water insecurity, potentially traumatic events, stress biomarkers) documenting the joys, hazards, and stressors of adolescents engaging in climate-sensitive pastoralist livelihoods in a global climate change hot spot. We aim to holistically capture socio-environmental relationships characterised by climate sensitive livelihoods and forms of precarity exacerbated by climate change.

Subjects And Methods: Qualitative and quantitative methods were integrated to understand the embodied toll of hazards that Samburu pastoralists faced based on a sample of 161 young people.

Exposome-wide association study of environmental chemical exposures and epigenetic aging in the national health and nutrition examination survey.

Epigenetic clocks can serve as pivotal biomarkers linking environmental exposures with biological aging. However, research on the influence of environmental exposures on epigenetic aging has largely been limited to a small number of chemicals and specific populations. We harnessed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 cycles to examine exposome-wide associations between environmental exposures and epigenetic aging.

A Bayesian high-dimensional mediation analysis for multilevel genome-wide epigenetic data.

Causal mediation analysis has increasingly become a popular practice in various clinical trials and epidemiological applications to evaluate whether an intermediate variable is on the pathway between the exposure of interest and a response. Previous mediation analyses in the literature mainly focused on settings with a single or low-dimensional mediators and single-level data. In this article, we propose a Bayesian causal mediation analysis method that can handle our multilevel intergenerational epigenetic mechanisms study (IEMS) with high-dimensional mediators.

One-carbon metabolism-related compounds are associated with epigenetic aging biomarkers: Results from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2002.

Background: One-carbon metabolism (OCM), a biochemical pathway dependent on micronutrients including folate and vitamin B12, plays an essential role in aging-related physiological processes. DNA methylation-based aging biomarkers may be influenced by OCM.

Objective: This study investigated associations of OCM-related biomarkers with epigenetic aging biomarkers in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Epigenome-wide association study of perceived discrimination in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

Perceived discrimination, recognized as a chronic psychosocial stressor, has adverse consequences on health. DNA methylation (DNAm) may be a potential mechanism by which stressors get embedded into the human body at the molecular level and subsequently affect health outcomes. However, relatively little is known about the effects of perceived discrimination on DNAm.

Black/White disparities in low birth weight across maternal trajectories of social mobility in South Carolina.

Persistent racial disparities in low birth weight (LBW) in the United States may be better understood through the adoption of a life course perspective that considers differential exposure and vulnerability of Black and White women to socioeconomic position across generations. Using a multigenerational dataset of singleton birth certificates from South Carolina from 1989 to 2020 linked along the maternal line, we constructed intergenerational social mobility trajectories of grandmaternal and maternal education and compared unadjusted and adjusted associations between trajectories and LBW among Black and White women. We found that White women were more likely to be upwardly mobile, and Black women to be downwardly mobile.