Fiorito Giovanni, McCrory Cathal, Robinson Oliver, Carmeli Cristian, Ochoa-Rosales Carolina, Zhang Yan, Colicino Elena, Dugué Pierre-Antoine, Artaud Fanny, McKay Gareth J, Jeong Ayoung, Mishra Pashupati P, Nøst Therese H, Krogh Vittorio, Panico Salvatore, Sacerdote Carlotta, Tumino Rosario, Palli Domenico, Matullo Giuseppe, Guarrera Simonetta, Gandini Martina, Bochud Murielle, Dermitzakis Emmanouil, Muka Taulant, Schwartz Joel, Vokonas Pantel S, Just Allan, Hodge Allison M, Giles Graham G, Southey Melissa C, Hurme Mikko A, Young Ian, McKnight Amy Jayne, Kunze Sonja, Waldenberger Melanie, Peters Annette, Schwettmann Lars, Lund Eiliv, Baccarelli Andrea, Milne Roger L, Kenny Rose A, Elbaz Alexis, Brenner Hermann, Kee Frank, Voortman Trudy, Probst-Hensch Nicole, Lehtimäki Terho, Elliot Paul, Stringhini Silvia, Vineis Paolo, Polidoro Silvia
Italian Institute for Genomic Medicine (IIGM), Turin, Italy.
Equal contribution.
Aging (Albany NY). 2019 Apr 14;11(7):2045-2070. doi: 10.18632/aging.101900.
Differences in health status by socioeconomic position (SEP) tend to be more evident at older ages, suggesting the involvement of a biological mechanism responsive to the accumulation of deleterious exposures across the lifespan. DNA methylation (DNAm) has been proposed as a biomarker of biological aging that conserves memory of endogenous and exogenous stress during life.We examined the association of education level, as an indicator of SEP, and lifestyle-related variables with four biomarkers of age-dependent DNAm dysregulation: the total number of stochastic epigenetic mutations (SEMs) and three epigenetic clocks (Horvath, Hannum and Levine), in 18 cohorts spanning 12 countries.The four biological aging biomarkers were associated with education and different sets of risk factors independently, and the magnitude of the effects differed depending on the biomarker and the predictor. On average, the effect of low education on epigenetic aging was comparable with those of other lifestyle-related risk factors (obesity, alcohol intake), with the exception of smoking, which had a significantly stronger effect.Our study shows that low education is an independent predictor of accelerated biological (epigenetic) aging and that epigenetic clocks appear to be good candidates for disentangling the biological pathways underlying social inequalities in healthy aging and longevity.
社会经济地位（SEP）导致的健康状况差异在老年时往往更为明显，这表明存在一种生物学机制，该机制对一生中有害暴露的积累做出反应。DNA甲基化（DNAm）已被提议作为生物衰老的生物标志物，它保留了生命过程中内源性和外源性应激的记忆。我们在涵盖12个国家的18个队列中，研究了作为SEP指标的教育水平以及与生活方式相关的变量与年龄依赖性DNAm失调的四个生物标志物之间的关联：随机表观遗传突变（SEM）的总数和三个表观遗传时钟（霍瓦斯、汉纳姆和莱文）。这四个生物衰老生物标志物分别与教育和不同的风险因素集相关，且效应大小因生物标志物和预测因素而异。平均而言，低教育对表观遗传衰老的影响与其他与生活方式相关的风险因素（肥胖、酒精摄入）相当，但吸烟除外，吸烟的影响明显更强。我们的研究表明，低教育是生物（表观遗传）衰老加速的独立预测因素，表观遗传时钟似乎是解开健康衰老和长寿方面社会不平等背后生物途径的良好候选指标。
