1 4249 140 METHYLATION-BASED BIOLOGICAL AGE AND BREAST CANCER RISK. BACKGROUND: AGE IS ONE OF THE STRONGEST PREDICTORS OF CANCER, CHRONIC DISEASE, AND MORTALITY, BUT BIOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO AGING DIFFER AMONG PEOPLE. EPIGENETIC DNA MODIFICATIONS HAVE BEEN USED TO ESTIMATE "BIOLOGICAL AGE," WHICH MAY BE A USEFUL PREDICTOR OF DISEASE RISK. WE TESTED THIS HYPOTHESIS FOR BREAST CANCER. METHODS: USING A CASE-COHORT APPROACH, WE MEASURED BASELINE BLOOD DNA METHYLATION OF 2764 WOMEN ENROLLED IN THE SISTER STUDY, 1566 OF WHOM SUBSEQUENTLY DEVELOPED BREAST CANCER AFTER AN AVERAGE OF 6 YEARS. USING THREE PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED METHYLATION-BASED "CLOCKS" (HANNUM, HORVATH, AND LEVINE), WE DEFINED BIOLOGICAL AGE ACCELERATION FOR EACH WOMAN BY COMPARING HER ESTIMATED BIOLOGICAL AGE WITH HER CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. HAZARD RATIOS AND 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS FOR BREAST CANCER RISK WERE ESTIMATED USING COX REGRESSION MODELS. ALL STATISTICAL TESTS WERE TWO-SIDED. RESULTS: EACH OF THE THREE CLOCKS SHOWED THAT BIOLOGICAL AGE ACCELERATION WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF DEVELOPING BREAST CANCER (5-YEAR AGE ACCELERATION, HANNUM'S CLOCK: HAZARD RATIO [HR] = 1.10, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI] = 1.00 TO 1.21, P = .04; HORVATH'S CLOCK: HR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.00 TO 1.17, P = .04; LEVINE'S CLOCK: HR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.07 TO 1.23, P < .001). FOR LEVINE'S CLOCK, EACH 5-YEAR ACCELERATION IN BIOLOGICAL AGE CORRESPONDED WITH A 15% INCREASE IN BREAST CANCER RISK. ALTHOUGH BIOLOGICAL AGE MAY ACCELERATE WITH MENOPAUSAL TRANSITION, AGE ACCELERATION IN PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN INDEPENDENTLY PREDICTED BREAST CANCER. CASE-ONLY ANALYSIS SUGGESTED THAT, AMONG WOMEN WHO DEVELOP BREAST CANCER, INCREASED AGE ACCELERATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH INVASIVE CANCER (ODDS RATIO FOR INVASIVE = 1.09, 95% CI = 0.98 TO 1.22, P = .10). CONCLUSIONS: DNA METHYLATION-BASED MEASURES OF BIOLOGICAL AGE MAY BE IMPORTANT PREDICTORS OF BREAST CANCER RISK. 2019 2 1953 45 EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION AND CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS AMONG ADULT SURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER. BACKGROUND: MOUNTING EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THE OCCURRENCE OF ACCELERATING AGING AMONG LONG-TERM SURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER. WE AIMED TO INVESTIGATE EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION (EAA) IN SURVIVORS AND EVALUATE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN EAA, TREATMENT EXPOSURES, HEALTH BEHAVIORS, AND CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS (CHCS). METHODS: GENOME-WIDE METHYLATION DATA WERE GENERATED WITH INFINIUM EPIC BEADCHIP ON BLOOD-DERIVED DNA FROM 2139 SURVIVORS AND 282 FREQUENCY MATCHED CONTROLS FROM THE ST JUDE LIFETIME COHORT STUDY. EAAS WERE ESTIMATED AS RESIDUALS FROM A LINEAR REGRESSION OF EPIGENETIC AGE (LEVINE'S CLOCK) AGAINST CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. ADJUSTED LEAST SQUARE MEAN (ALSM) OF EAA WAS CALCULATED AND COMPARED BETWEEN SURVIVORS AND CONTROLS, ACROSS TREATMENT EXPOSURES AND HEALTH BEHAVIORS. ASSOCIATIONS OF EAA WITH 20 CLINICALLY ASSESSED CHCS WERE EVALUATED WITH MULTIVARIABLE PIECEWISE-EXPONENTIAL MODELS. ALL STATISTICAL TESTS FOR P VALUES BELOW WERE 2-SIDED. RESULTS: EAA WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN SURVIVORS THAN CONTROLS (ALSM = 0.63, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI] = 0.26 TO 1.01 VS -3.61, 95% CI = -4.43 TO 2.80). IN A MULTIVARIABLE MODEL AMONG SURVIVORS, STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER EAA (P < .05) WAS OBSERVED IN THOSE EXPOSED TO CHEST RADIOTHERAPY, ABDOMEN OR PELVIC RADIOTHERAPY, ALKYLATING AGENTS, GLUCOCORTICOIDS, OR EPIPODOPHYLLOTOXINS. COMPARED WITH SURVIVORS WITH FAVORABLE HEALTH BEHAVIORS (ALSM = 0.26, 95% CI=-0.36 TO 0.87), EAA WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER AMONG SURVIVORS WITH INTERMEDIATE (ALSM = 1.07, 95% CI = 0.59 TO 1.54) OR UNFAVORABLE HEALTH BEHAVIORS (ALSM = 1.45, 95% CI = 0.60 TO 2.30). IN TIME-TO-EVENT ANALYSES, STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATIONS WERE IDENTIFIED BETWEEN EAA TERTILES AND INCIDENCE OF 7 CHCS: HYPERTENSION (3RD VS 1ST TERTILE, RELATIVE RATE [RR] = 1.83, 95% CI = 1.17 TO 2.83), MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION (RR = 2.91, 95% CI = 1.27 TO 7.21), OBESITY (RR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.17 TO 1.66), OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DEFICIT (RR = 1.86, 95% CI = 0.95 TO 3.77), PERIPHERAL MOTOR NEUROPATHY (RR = 2.89, 95% CI = 1.24 TO 6.97), PERIPHERAL SENSORY NEUROPATHY (RR = 2.04, 95% CI = 0.99 TO 4.26), AND PULMONARY DIFFUSION DEFICITS (RR = 2.75, 95% CI = 0.95 TO 7.63). CONCLUSIONS: EAA IS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN SURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER THAN IN NONCANCER CONTROLS AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIFIC TREATMENT EXPOSURES, UNFAVORABLE HEALTH BEHAVIORS, AND PRESENCE OF SPECIFIC CHCS. 2021 3 1956 51 EPIGENETIC AGE IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD AMONG CHILDREN, ADOLESCENT, AND ADULT SURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER. IMPORTANCE: CERTAIN CANCER THERAPIES ARE RISK FACTORS FOR EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION (EAA) AMONG SURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER, AND EAA IS ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS (CHCS). HOWEVER, SMALL NUMBERS OF YOUNGER SURVIVORS (AGED <20 YEARS) PREVIOUSLY EVALUATED HAVE LIMITED THE ABILITY TO CALCULATE EAA AMONG THIS AGE GROUP. OBJECTIVE: TO EVALUATE THE CHANGE RATE OF EPIGENETIC AGE (EA) AND EAA IN YOUNGER COMPARED WITH OLDER SURVIVORS AND THE POSSIBLE ASSOCIATION OF EAA WITH EARLY-ONSET OBESITY (AGED <20 YEARS), SEVERITY/BURDEN OF CHCS, AND LATE MORTALITY (>5 YEARS FROM CANCER DIAGNOSIS). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: STUDY PARTICIPANTS WERE FROM THE ST JUDE LIFETIME COHORT, INITIATED IN 2007 WITH ONGOING FOLLOW-UP. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED FROM APRIL 17, 2022, TO MARCH 23, 2023. SURVIVORS IN THIS COHORT OF EUROPEAN ANCESTRY WITH DNA METHYLATION DATA WERE INCLUDED. CROSS-SECTIONAL ANNUAL CHANGES IN EA AND EAA WERE COMPARED ACROSS 5 DIFFERENT CHRONOLOGIC AGE GROUPS: AGE 0 TO 9 (CHILDREN), 10 TO 19 (ADOLESCENTS), 20 TO 34 (YOUNGER ADULTS), 35 TO 49 (MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS), AND GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO 50 (OLDER ADULTS) YEARS. LOGISTIC REGRESSION EVALUATED THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EAA AND EARLY-ONSET OBESITY OR SEVERITY/BURDEN OF CHCS. COX PROPORTIONAL HAZARDS REGRESSION ASSESSED THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EAA AND LATE MORTALITY. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: EARLY-ONSET OBESITY, SEVERITY/BURDEN OF CHCS (GRADED USING THE COMMON TERMINOLOGY CRITERIA FOR ADVERSE EVENTS (GRADE 1, MILD; 2, MODERATE; 3, SEVERE/DISABLING; 4, LIFE-THREATENING) AND WERE COMBINED INTO HIGH VS LOW SEVERITY/BURDEN BASED ON FREQUENCY AND GRADE), AND LATE MORTALITY WERE THE OUTCOMES BASED ON FOLLOW-UP UNTIL APRIL 2020. EXPANDED DNA METHYLATION PROFILING INCREASED THE NUMBER OF SURVIVORS YOUNGER THAN 20 YEARS (N = 690). EPIGENETIC AGE WAS CALCULATED PRIMARILY USING THE LEVINE CLOCK, AND EAA WAS DERIVED FROM LEAST SQUARES REGRESSION OF EA AGAINST CHRONOLOGIC AGE AND WAS STANDARDIZED TO A Z SCORE (LEVINE EEA). RESULTS: AMONG 2846 PARTICIPANTS (MEDIAN AGE, 30.3 [IQR, 9.3-41.5] YEARS; 53% MALES), THE CROSS-SECTIONAL ANNUAL CHANGE IN EA_LEVINE WAS HIGHER IN CHILDREN (1.63 YEARS) AND ADOLESCENTS (1.14 YEARS), AND THE ADJUSTED LEAST-SQUARES MEAN OF LEVINE EEA WAS LOWER IN CHILDREN (-0.22 YEARS) AND OLDER ADULTS (-1.70 YEARS). EACH 1-SD INCREASE IN LEVINE EEA WAS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF DEVELOPING EARLY-ONSET OBESITY (ODDS RATIO [OR], 1.46; 95% CI, 1.19-1.78), HIGH SEVERITY/BURDEN OF CHCS (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.03-1.24), AND LATE MORTALITY (HAZARD RATIO, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.35-2.26). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY SUGGEST THAT EAA MEASURED IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENT SURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER IS ASSOCIATED WITH EARLY-ONSET OBESITY, SEVERITY/BURDEN OF ALL CHCS, AND LATE MORTALITY. EVALUATING EAA MAY HELP IDENTIFY SURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER AT INCREASED RISK FOR EARLY-ONSET OBESITY, MORBIDITY IN GENERAL, AND MORTALITY. 2023 4 6018 55 THE ASSOCIATION OF EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION AND MULTIMORBIDITY AT AGE 90 IN THE WOMEN'S HEALTH INITIATIVE. BACKGROUND: EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION (EAA), A MEASURE OF ACCELERATED BIOLOGICAL AGING, HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF SEVERAL AGE-RELATED CHRONIC CONDITIONS. THIS IS THE FIRST STUDY TO PROSPECTIVELY EXAMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EAA AND BOTH MULTIMORBIDITY COUNT AND A WEIGHTED MULTIMORBIDITY SCORE AMONG LONG-LIVED POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. METHODS: WE INCLUDED 1,951 WOMEN FROM THE WOMEN'S HEALTH INITIATIVE WHO COULD HAVE SURVIVED TO AGE 90. EAA WAS ESTIMATED USING THE HORVATH PAN-TISSUE, HANNUM, PHENOAGE AND GRIMAGE "CLOCKS." TWELVE CHRONIC CONDITIONS WERE INCLUDED IN THE MULTIMORBIDITY COUNT. THE MULTIMORBIDITY SCORE WAS WEIGHTED FOR EACH MORBIDITY'S RELATIONSHIP WITH MORTALITY IN THE STUDY POPULATION. USING MIXED-EFFECTS POISSON AND LINEAR REGRESSION MODELS THAT INCLUDED BASELINE COVARIATES ASSOCIATED WITH BOTH EAA AND MULTIMORBIDITY, WE ESTIMATED RELATIVE RISKS (RRS) AND 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CIS) FOR THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EACH EAA MEASURE AT STUDY BASELINE WITH BOTH MULTIMORBIDITY COUNT AND WEIGHTED MULTIMORBIDITY SCORE AT AGE 90, RESPECTIVELY. RESULTS: FOR EVERY ONE-STANDARD DEVIATION INCREASE IN AGEACCELPHENO, THE RATE OF MULTIMORBIDITY ACCUMULATION INCREASED 6% (RR=1.06; 95% CI=1.01-1.12; P=0.025) AND THE MULTIMORBIDITY SCORE BY 7% (RR=1.07; 95% CI=1.01-1.13; P=0.014) FOR WOMEN WHO SURVIVED TO AGE 90. THE RESULTS FOR A ONE-STANDARD DEVIATION INCREASE IN AGEACCELHORVATH, AGEACCELHANNUM AND AGEACCELGRIM WITH MULTIMORBIDITY ACCUMULATION AND SCORE WERE WEAKER COMPARED TO AGEACCELPHENO, AND THE LATTER TWO DID NOT REACH STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE. CONCLUSION: AGEACCELPHENO AND AGEACCELHANNUM MAY PREDICT MULTIMORBIDITY COUNT AND SCORE AT AGE 90 IN OLDER WOMEN AND, THUS, MAY BE USEFUL AS A BIOMARKER PREDICTOR OF MULTIMORBIDITY BURDEN IN THE LAST DECADES OF LIFE. 2022 5 5463 40 RESIDENTIAL PM(2.5) EXPOSURE AND THE NASAL METHYLOME IN CHILDREN. RATIONALE: PM(2.5-)INDUCED ADVERSE EFFECTS ON RESPIRATORY HEALTH MAY BE DRIVEN BY EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS IN AIRWAY CELLS. THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF EXPOSURE DURATION ON EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS IN THE AIRWAYS IS NOT YET KNOWN. OBJECTIVES: WE AIMED TO STUDY ASSOCIATIONS OF FINE PARTICULATE MATTER PM(2.5) EXPOSURE WITH DNA METHYLATION IN NASAL CELLS. METHODS: WE CONDUCTED NASAL EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION ANALYSES WITHIN 503 CHILDREN FROM PROJECT VIVA (MEAN AGE 12.9 Y), AND EXAMINED VARIOUS EXPOSURE DURATIONS (1-DAY, 1-WEEK, 1-MONTH, 3-MONTHS AND 1-YEAR) PRIOR TO NASAL SAMPLING. WE USED RESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES TO ESTIMATE AVERAGE DAILY PM(2.5) AT 1 KM RESOLUTION. WE COLLECTED NASAL SWABS FROM THE ANTERIOR NARES AND MEASURED DNA METHYLATION (DNAM) USING THE ILLUMINA METHYLATIONEPIC BEADCHIP. WE TESTED 719,075 HIGH QUALITY AUTOSOMAL CPGS USING CPG-BY-CPG AND REGIONAL DNAM ANALYSES CONTROLLING FOR MULTIPLE COMPARISONS, AND ADJUSTED FOR MATERNAL EDUCATION, HOUSEHOLD SMOKERS, CHILD SEX, RACE/ETHNICITY, BMI Z-SCORE, AGE, SEASON AT SAMPLE COLLECTION AND CELL-TYPE HETEROGENEITY. WE FURTHER CORRECTED FOR BIAS AND GENOMIC INFLATION. WE TESTED FOR REPLICATION IN A COHORT FROM THE NETHERLANDS (PIAMA). RESULTS: IN ADJUSTED ANALYSES, WE FOUND 362 CPGS ASSOCIATED WITH 1-YEAR PM(2.5) (FDR < 0.05), 20 CPGS PASSING BONFERRONI CORRECTION (P < 7.0X10(-8)) AND 10 DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED REGIONS (DMRS). IN 445 PIAMA PARTICIPANTS (MEAN AGE 16.3 YEARS) 11 OF 203 AVAILABLE CPGS REPLICATED AT P < 0.05. WE OBSERVED DIFFERENTIAL DNAM AT/NEAR GENES IMPLICATED IN CELL CYCLE, IMMUNE AND INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES. THERE WERE NO CPGS OR REGIONS ASSOCIATED WITH PM(2.5) LEVELS AT 1-DAY, 1-WEEK, OR 1-MONTH PRIOR TO SAMPLE COLLECTION, ALTHOUGH 2 CPGS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH PAST 3-MONTH PM(2.5). CONCLUSION: WE OBSERVED WIDE-SPREAD DNAM VARIABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH AVERAGE PAST YEAR PM(2.5) EXPOSURE BUT WE DID NOT DETECT ASSOCIATIONS WITH SHORTER-TERM EXPOSURE. OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT NASAL DNAM MARKS REFLECT CHRONIC AIR POLLUTION EXPOSURE. 2021 6 403 60 ANALYSIS OF EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION AND HEALTHY LONGEVITY AMONG OLDER US WOMEN. IMPORTANCE: ACCELERATED BIOLOGICAL AGING IS ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASED PHYSICAL CAPABILITY AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING, WHICH ARE ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. OBJECTIVE: WE INVESTIGATED ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION (EAA), A BIOMARKER ASSOCIATED WITH AGING, AND HEALTHY LONGEVITY AMONG OLDER WOMEN. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: THIS COHORT STUDY WAS A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE WOMEN'S HEALTH INITIATIVE (WHI) WHO WERE ELIGIBLE TO SURVIVE TO AGE 90 YEARS BY SEPTEMBER 30, 2020. PARTICIPANTS WERE LOCATED IN MULTIPLE CENTERS. THIS STUDY WAS RESTRICTED TO WOMEN WITH GENOME-WIDE DNA METHYLATION DATA, GENERATED FROM BASELINE BLOOD SAMPLES WITHIN 3 WHI ANCILLARY STUDIES. MEDIAN (IQR) FOLLOW-UP TIMES FROM BASELINE WERE 21.6 (19.6-22.9) YEARS AND 21.4 (19.8-22.7) YEARS FOR WOMEN WHO SURVIVED TO AGE 90 YEARS WITH AND WITHOUT INTACT MOBILITY, RESPECTIVELY, AND 13.2 (8.8-16.7) FOR WOMEN WHO DID NOT SURVIVE TO AGE 90 YEARS. DATA WERE ANALYZED FROM DECEMBER 2020 TO JULY 2021. EXPOSURES: EAA WAS ESTIMATED USING 4 ESTABLISHED "CLOCKS": HORVATH PANTISSUE, HANNUM, PHENO, AND GRIM. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: USING MULTINOMIAL LOGISTIC REGRESSION, ODDS RATIOS (ORS) AND 95% CIS WERE ESTIMATED FOR 3 HEALTHY LONGEVITY OUTCOMES FOR EACH CLOCK: SURVIVAL TO AGE 90 YEARS WITH INTACT MOBILITY, SURVIVAL TO AGE 90 YEARS WITHOUT INTACT MOBILITY, AND NO SURVIVAL TO AGE 90 YEARS. RESULTS: AMONG 1813 WOMEN, THERE WERE 464 WOMEN (MEAN [SD] AGE AT BASELINE, 71.6 [3.5] YEARS) WHO SURVIVED TO AGE 90 YEARS WITH INTACT MOBILITY AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING, 420 WOMEN (MEAN [SD] AGE AT BASELINE, 71.3 [3.2] YEARS) WHO SURVIVED TO AGE 90 YEARS WITHOUT INTACT MOBILITY AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING, AND 929 WOMEN (MEAN [SD] AGE AT BASELINE, 70.2 [3.4] YEARS) WHO DID NOT SURVIVE TO AGE 90 YEARS. WOMEN WHO SURVIVED TO AGE 90 YEARS WITH INTACT MOBILITY AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION WERE HEALTHIER AT BASELINE COMPARED WITH WOMEN WHO SURVIVED WITHOUT THOSE OUTCOMES OR WHO DID NOT SURVIVE TO AGE 90 YEARS (EG, 143 WOMEN [30.8%] VS 101 WOMEN [24.0%] AND 202 WOMEN [21.7%] WITH 0 CHRONIC CONDITIONS). THE ODDS OF SURVIVING TO AGE 90 YEARS WITH INTACT MOBILITY WERE LOWER FOR EVERY 1 SD INCREASE IN EAA COMPARED WITH THOSE WHO DID NOT SURVIVE TO AGE 90 YEARS AS MEASURED BY AGEACCELHORVATH (OR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.69-0.96; P = .01), AGEACCELHANNUM (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.56-0.80; P < .001), AGEACCELPHENO (OR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.51-0.72; P < .001), AND AGEACCELGRIM (OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.55-0.84; P < .001). ORS WERE SIMILAR FOR WOMEN WHO SURVIVED TO AGE 90 YEARS WITH INTACT MOBILITY AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION (EG, AGEACCELHORVATH: OR PER 1 SD INCREASE IN EAA, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.71-0.98; P = .03) COMPARED WITH WOMEN WHO DID NOT SURVIVE TO AGE 90 YEARS. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT EAA MAY BE A VALID BIOMARKER ASSOCIATED WITH HEALTHY LONGEVITY AMONG OLDER WOMEN AND MAY BE USED FOR RISK STRATIFICATION AND RISK ESTIMATION OF FUTURE FUNCTIONAL AND COGNITIVE AGING. OUTCOMES SUGGEST THAT FUTURE STUDIES MAY FOCUS ON THE POTENTIAL FOR PUBLIC HEALTH INTERVENTIONS TO COUNTERACT EAA AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH POOR HEALTH OUTCOMES TO LOWER DISEASE BURDEN WHILE INCREASING LONGEVITY. 2022 7 713 41 CADMIUM EXPOSURE AND AGE-ASSOCIATED DNA METHYLATION CHANGES IN NON-SMOKING WOMEN FROM NORTHERN THAILAND. DNA METHYLATION CHANGES WITH AGE, AND MAY SERVE AS A BIOMARKER OF AGING. CADMIUM (CD) MODIFIES CELLULAR PROCESSES THAT PROMOTE AGING AND DISRUPTS METHYLATION GLOBALLY. WHETHER CD MODIFIES AGING PROCESSES BY INFLUENCING ESTABLISHMENT OF AGE-ASSOCIATED METHYLATION MARKS IS CURRENTLY UNKNOWN. IN THIS PILOT STUDY, WE CHARACTERIZED METHYLATION PROFILES IN > 450 000 CPG SITES IN 40 NON-SMOKING WOMEN (AGE 40-80) DIFFERENTIALLY EXPOSED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CD FROM THAILAND. BASED ON SPECIFIC GRAVITY ADJUSTED URINARY CD, WE CLASSIFIED THEM AS HIGH (HE) AND LOW (LE) EXPOSED AND AGE-MATCHED WITHIN 5 YEARS. URINARY CD WAS DEFINED AS BELOW 2 MICROG/L IN THE LE GROUP. WE PREDICTED EPIGENETIC AGE (DNAM-AGE) USING TWO PUBLISHED METHODS BY HORVATH AND HANNUM AND EXAMINED THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EPIGENETIC AGE AND CHRONOLOGIC AGE (DELTAAGE). WE ASSESSED DIFFERENCES BY CD EXPOSURE USING LINEAR MIXED MODELS ADJUSTED FOR ESTIMATED WHITE BLOOD CELL PROPORTIONS, BMI, AND URINARY CREATININE. WE IDENTIFIED 213 AGE-ASSOCIATED CPG SITES IN OUR POPULATION (P < 10(-4)). COUNTERINTUITIVELY, THE MEAN DELTAAGE WAS SMALLER IN HE VS. LE (HANNUM: 3.6 VS. 7.6 YEARS, P = 0.0093; HORVATH: 2.4 VS. 4.5 YEARS, P = 0.1308). THE CD EXPOSED GROUP WAS ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN METHYLATION (P < 0.05) AT 12, 8, AND 20 AGE-ASSOCIATED SITES IDENTIFIED IN OUR POPULATION, HANNUM, AND HORVATH. FROM THE RESULTS OF THIS PILOT STUDY, ELEVATED CD EXPOSURE IS ASSOCIATED WITH METHYLATION CHANGES AT AGE-ASSOCIATED SITES AND SMALLER DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DNAM-AGE AND CHRONOLOGIC AGE, IN CONTRAST TO EXPECTED AGE-ACCELERATING EFFECTS. CD MAY MODIFY EPIGENETIC AGING, AND BIOMARKERS OF AGING WARRANT FURTHER INVESTIGATION WHEN EXAMINING CD AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRONIC DISEASE AND MORTALITY. 2017 8 173 37 ACCELERATED AGING IN BIPOLAR DISORDERS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF SIX EPIGENETIC CLOCKS. BIPOLAR DISORDER (BD) IS A CHRONIC AND SEVERE PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANT MEDICAL MORBIDITY AND REDUCED LIFE EXPECTANCY. IN THIS STUDY, WE ASSESSED ACCELERATED EPIGENETIC AGING IN INDIVIDUALS WITH BD USING VARIOUS DNA METHYLATION (DNAM)-BASED MARKERS. FOR THIS PURPOSE, WE USED FIVE EPIGENETIC CLOCKS (HORVATH, HANNUM, EN, PHENOAGE, AND GRIMAGE) AND A DNAM-BASED TELOMERE LENGTH CLOCK (DNAMTL). DNAM PROFILES WERE OBTAINED USING INFINIUM METHYLATIONEPIC ARRAYS FROM WHOLE-BLOOD SAMPLES OF 184 INDIVIDUALS WITH BD. WE ALSO ESTIMATED BLOOD CELL COUNTS BASED ON DNAM LEVELS FOR ADJUSTMENT. SIGNIFICANT CORRELATIONS BETWEEN CHRONOLOGICAL AGE AND EACH EPIGENETIC AGE ESTIMATED USING THE SIX DIFFERENT CLOCKS WERE OBSERVED. FOLLOWING ADJUSTMENT FOR BLOOD CELL COUNTS, WE FOUND THAT THE SIX EPIGENETIC AGEACCELS (AGE ACCELERATIONS) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE BODY MASS INDEX. GRIMAGE AGEACCEL WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH MALE SEX, SMOKING STATUS AND CHILDHOOD MALTREATMENT. DNAMTL AGEACCEL WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH SMOKING STATUS. OVERALL, THIS STUDY SHOWED THAT DISTINCT EPIGENETIC CLOCKS ARE SENSITIVE TO DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF AGING PROCESS IN BD. FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS WITH COMPREHENSIVE EPIGENETIC CLOCK ANALYSES AND LARGE SAMPLES ARE REQUIRED TO CONFIRM OUR FINDINGS OF POTENTIAL DETERMINANTS OF AN ACCELERATED EPIGENETIC AGING IN BD. 2023 9 1955 61 EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION PREDICTS CANCER, CARDIOVASCULAR, AND ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY IN A GERMAN CASE COHORT. BACKGROUND: PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE DEVELOPED MODELS PREDICTING METHYLATION AGE FROM DNA METHYLATION IN BLOOD AND OTHER TISSUES (EPIGENETIC CLOCK) AND SUGGESTED THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DNA METHYLATION AND CHRONOLOGICAL AGES AS A MARKER OF HEALTHY AGING. THE GOAL OF THIS STUDY WAS TO CONFIRM AND EXPAND SUCH OBSERVATIONS BY INVESTIGATING WHETHER DIFFERENT CONCEPTS OF THE EPIGENETIC CLOCKS IN A POPULATION-BASED COHORT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH CANCER, CARDIOVASCULAR, AND ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY. RESULTS: DNA METHYLATION AGE WAS ESTIMATED IN A COHORT OF 1863 OLDER PEOPLE, AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AGE PREDICTED BY DNA METHYLATION AND CHRONOLOGICAL AGE (DELTAAGE) WAS CALCULATED. A CASE-COHORT DESIGN AND WEIGHTED PROPORTIONAL COX HAZARD MODELS WERE USED TO ESTIMATE ASSOCIATIONS OF DELTAAGE WITH CANCER, CARDIOVASCULAR, AND ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY. HAZARD RATIOS FOR DELTAAGE (PER 5 YEARS) CALCULATED USING THE EPIGENETIC CLOCK DEVELOPED BY HORVATH WERE 1.23 (95 % CI 1.10-1.38) FOR ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY, 1.22 (95 % CI 1.03-1.45) FOR CANCER MORTALITY, AND 1.19 (95 % CI 0.98-1.43) FOR CARDIOVASCULAR MORTALITY AFTER ADJUSTMENT FOR BATCH EFFECTS, AGE, SEX, EDUCATIONAL LEVEL, HISTORY OF CHRONIC DISEASES, HYPERTENSION, SMOKING STATUS, BODY MASS INDEX, AND LEUCOCYTE DISTRIBUTION. ASSOCIATIONS WERE SIMILAR BUT WEAKER FOR DELTAAGE CALCULATED USING THE EPIGENETIC CLOCK DEVELOPED BY HANNUM. CONCLUSIONS: THESE RESULTS SHOW THAT AGE ACCELERATION IN TERMS OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AGE PREDICTED BY DNA METHYLATION AND CHRONOLOGICAL AGE IS AN INDEPENDENT PREDICTOR OF ALL-CAUSE AND CAUSE-SPECIFIC MORTALITY AND MAY BE USEFUL AS A GENERAL MARKER OF HEALTHY AGING. 2016 10 525 46 ASSOCIATIONS OF BODY COMPOSITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVEL WITH MULTIPLE MEASURES OF EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION. EPIGENETIC CLOCKS USE DNA METHYLATION TO ESTIMATE BIOLOGICAL AGE. WHETHER BODY COMPOSITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE CLOCKS IS NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD. USING BLOOD SAMPLES COLLECTED AT ENROLLMENT (2003-2009) FROM 2,758 WOMEN IN THE US NATIONWIDE SISTER STUDY, WE CALCULATED 6 EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION METRICS USING 4 EPIGENETIC CLOCKS (HANNUM, HORVATH, PHENOAGE, GRIMAGE). RECREATIONAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY WAS SELF-REPORTED, AND ADIPOSITY MEASURES WERE ASSESSED BY TRAINED MEDICAL EXAMINERS (BODY MASS INDEX (BMI), WAIST-TO-HIP RATIO (WTH), WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE). IN CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSES, ALL ADIPOSITY MEASURES WERE ASSOCIATED WITH EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION. THE STRONGEST ASSOCIATION WAS FOR BMI AND PHENOAGE, A MEASURE OF BIOLOGICAL AGE THAT CORRELATES WITH CHRONIC DISEASE (BMI OF >/=35.0 VS. 18.5-24.9, BETA = 3.15 YEARS, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI): 2.41, 3.90; P FOR TREND < 0.001). IN A MUTUAL-ADJUSTMENT MODEL, BOTH WERE ASSOCIATED WITH PHENOAGE AGE ACCELERATION (BMI OF >/=35.0 VS. 18.5-24.9, BETA = 2.69 YEARS, 95% CI: 1.90, 3.48; P FOR TREND < 0.001; QUARTILE 4 VS.1 WTH, BETA = 1.00 YEARS, 95% CI: 0.34, 1.65; P FOR TREND < 0.008). AFTER ADJUSTMENT, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY WAS ASSOCIATED ONLY WITH GRIMAGE (QUARTILE 4 VS. 1, BETA = -0.42 YEARS, 95% CI: -0.70, -0.14; P FOR TREND = 0.001). PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ATTENUATED THE WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE ASSOCIATIONS WITH PHENOAGE AND GRIMAGE. EXCESS ADIPOSITY WAS ASSOCIATED WITH EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION; PHYSICAL ACTIVITY MIGHT ATTENUATE ASSOCIATIONS WITH WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE. 2021 11 5746 36 SMOKING-RELATED DNA METHYLATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH DNA METHYLATION PHENOTYPIC AGE ACCELERATION: THE VETERANS AFFAIRS NORMATIVE AGING STUDY. DNA METHYLATION MAY PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN AGING AND AGE-RELATED DISEASES. DNA METHYLATION PHENOTYPIC AGE (DNAMPHENOAGE) IS A NEW AGING BIOMARKER AND PREDICTOR OF CHRONIC DISEASE RISK. WHILE SMOKING IS A STRONG RISK FACTOR FOR CHRONIC DISEASES AND INFLUENCES METHYLATION, ITS INFLUENCE ON DNAMPHENOAGE IS UNKNOWN. WE INVESTIGATED ASSOCIATIONS OF SELF-REPORTED AND EPIGENETIC SMOKING INDICATORS WITH DNAMPHENOAGE ACCELERATION IN A LONGITUDINAL AGING STUDY IN EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS. DNA METHYLATION WAS MEASURED IN WHOLE BLOOD SAMPLES FROM MULTIPLE VISITS FOR 692 MALE PARTICIPANTS IN THE VETERANS AFFAIRS NORMATIVE AGING STUDY DURING 1999-2013. ACCELERATION WAS DEFINED USING RESIDUALS FROM LINEAR REGRESSION OF THE DNAMPHENOAGE ON THE CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. CUMULATIVE SMOKING (PACK-YEARS) WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH DNAMPHENOAGE ACCELERATION, WHEREAS SELF-REPORTED SMOKING STATUS WAS NOT. WE OBSERVED SIGNIFICANT VALIDATED ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN SMOKING-RELATED LOCI AND DNAMPHENOAGE ACCELERATION FOR 52 CPG SITES, WHERE 18 WERE HYPOMETHYLATED AND 34 WERE HYPERMETHYLATED, MAPPED TO 16 GENES. THE AHRR GENE HAD THE MOST LOCI (N = 8) AMONG THE 16 GENES. WE GENERATED A SMOKING AGING INDEX BASED ON THESE 52 LOCI, WHICH SHOWED POSITIVE SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATIONS WITH DNAMPHENOAGE ACCELERATION. THESE EPIGENETIC BIOMARKERS MAY HELP TO PREDICT AGE-RELATED RISKS DRIVEN BY SMOKING. 2019 12 502 47 ASSOCIATION OF ARSENIC EXPOSURE WITH WHOLE BLOOD DNA METHYLATION: AN EPIGENOME-WIDE STUDY OF BANGLADESHI ADULTS. BACKGROUND: ARSENIC EXPOSURE AFFECTS [FORMULA: SEE TEXT] PEOPLE WORLDWIDE, INCLUDING [FORMULA: SEE TEXT] IN BANGLADESH. ARSENIC EXPOSURE INCREASES THE RISK OF CANCER AND OTHER CHRONIC DISEASES, AND ONE POTENTIAL MECHANISM OF ARSENIC TOXICITY IS EPIGENETIC DYSREGULATION. OBJECTIVE: WE ASSESSED ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN ARSENIC EXPOSURE AND GENOME-WIDE DNA METHYLATION MEASURED AT BASELINE AMONG 396 BANGLADESHI ADULTS PARTICIPATING IN THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF ARSENIC LONGITUDINAL STUDY (HEALS) WHO WERE EXPOSED BY DRINKING NATURALLY CONTAMINATED WELL WATER. METHODS: METHYLATION IN WHOLE BLOOD DNA WAS MEASURED AT [FORMULA: SEE TEXT] USING THE ILLUMINA INFINIUMMETHYLATIONEPIC (EPIC) ARRAY. TO ASSESS ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN ARSENIC EXPOSURE AND CPG METHYLATION, WE USED LINEAR REGRESSION MODELS ADJUSTED FOR COVARIATES AND SURROGATE VARIABLES (SVS) (CAPTURING UNKNOWN TECHNICAL AND BIOLOGIC FACTORS). WE ATTEMPTED REPLICATION AND CONDUCTED A META-ANALYSIS USING AN INDEPENDENT DATASET OF [FORMULA: SEE TEXT] FROM 400 BANGLADESHI INDIVIDUALS WITH ARSENICAL SKIN LESIONS. RESULTS: WE IDENTIFIED 34 CPGS ASSOCIATED WITH [FORMULA: SEE TEXT] CREATININE-ADJUSTED URINARY ARSENIC [[FORMULA: SEE TEXT]]. SIXTEEN OF THESE CPGS ANNOTATED TO THE [FORMULA: SEE TEXT] ARRAY, AND 10 ASSOCIATIONS WERE REPLICATED ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT]). THE TOP TWO CPGS ANNOTATED UPSTREAM OF THE ABR GENE (CG01912040, CG10003262 ). ALL URINARY ARSENIC-ASSOCIATED CPGS WERE ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH ARSENIC CONCENTRATION MEASURED IN DRINKING WATER ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT]). META-ANALYSIS ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT] SAMPLES) IDENTIFIED 221 URINARY ARSENIC-ASSOCIATED CPGS ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT]). THE ARSENIC-ASSOCIATED CPGS FROM THE META-ANALYSIS WERE ENRICHED IN NON-CPG ISLANDS AND SHORES ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT]) AND DEPLETED IN PROMOTER REGIONS ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT]). AMONG THE ARSENIC-ASSOCIATED CPGS ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT]), WE OBSERVED SIGNIFICANT ENRICHMENT OF GENES ANNOTATING TO THE REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES PATHWAY, INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE, AND TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR [FORMULA: SEE TEXT] ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT]) SIGNALING VIA NUCLEAR FACTOR KAPPA-B ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT]) HALLMARKS ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT]). CONCLUSIONS: THE NOVEL AND REPLICABLE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN ARSENIC EXPOSURE AND DNA METHYLATION AT SPECIFIC CPGS OBSERVED IN THIS WORK SUGGEST THAT EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS SHOULD BE FURTHER INVESTIGATED AS POTENTIAL MEDIATORS IN ARSENIC TOXICITY AND AS BIOMARKERS OF EXPOSURE AND EFFECT IN EXPOSED POPULATIONS. HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.1289/EHP3849. 2019 13 308 37 ALCOHOL AND DNA METHYLATION: AN EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY IN BLOOD AND NORMAL BREAST TISSUE. THE BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS DRIVING ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND CHRONIC DISEASES MIGHT INCLUDE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF DNA METHYLATION. WE EXPLORED THE HYPOTHESIS THAT ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH METHYLATION IN AN EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY OF BLOOD AND NORMAL BREAST TISSUE DNA. INFINIUM HUMANMETHYLATION450 BEADCHIP (ILLUMINA INC., SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA) ARRAY DATA ON BLOOD DNA METHYLATION WAS EXAMINED IN A DISCOVERY SET OF 2,878 NON-HISPANIC WHITE WOMEN FROM THE SISTER STUDY (UNITED STATES, 2004-2015) WHO PROVIDED DETAILED QUESTIONNAIRE INFORMATION ON LIFETIME ALCOHOL USE. ROBUST LINEAR REGRESSION MODELING WAS USED TO IDENTIFY SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATIONS (FALSE DISCOVERY RATE OF Q < 0.05) BETWEEN THE NUMBER OF ALCOHOLIC DRINKS PER WEEK AND DNA METHYLATION AT 5,458 CYTOSINE-PHOSPHATE-GUANINE (CPG) SITES. ASSOCIATIONS WERE REPLICATED (P < 0.05) FOR 677 CPGS IN AN INDEPENDENT SET OF 187 BLOOD DNA SAMPLES FROM THE SISTER STUDY AND FOR 628 CPGS IN AN INDEPENDENT SET OF 171 NORMAL BREAST DNA SAMPLES; 1,207 CPGS WERE REPLICATED IN EITHER BLOOD OR NORMAL BREAST, WITH 98 CPGS REPLICATED IN BOTH TISSUES. INDIVIDUAL GENE EFFECTS WERE NOTABLE FOR PHOSPHOGLYCERATE DEHYDROGENASE (PGHDH), PEPTIDYL-PROLYL CIS-TRANS ISOMERASE (PPIF), SOLUTE CARRIER 15 (SLC15), SOLUTE CARRIER FAMILY 43 MEMBER 1 (SLC43A1), AND SOLUTE CARRIER FAMILY 7 MEMBER 11 (SLC7A11). WE ALSO FOUND THAT HIGH ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION WAS ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER GLOBAL METHYLATION AS MEASURED BY THE AVERAGE OF CPGS ON THE ENTIRE ARRAY. 2019 14 2734 51 EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DNA METHYLATION AGE MEASURES AND PSYCHONEUROLOGICAL SYMPTOMS IN WOMEN WITH EARLY-STAGE BREAST CANCER. PURPOSE: THE EPIGENETIC CLOCK HAS BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED AS AN INDICATOR FOR MOLECULAR AGING, BUT FEW STUDIES HAVE EXAMINED POSSIBLE ASSOCIATIONS OF DNA METHYLATION (DNAM) AGE OR AGE ACCELERATION (AA) WITH SYMPTOM BURDEN IN INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE TREATED FOR CANCER. THIS STUDY EXPLORED THE ASSOCIATION OF DNAM AGE OR AA WITH PSYCHONEUROLOGICAL (PN) SYMPTOMS, INCLUDING COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT, FATIGUE, SLEEP DISTURBANCES, PAIN, AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS OVER A 2-YEAR PERIOD. METHODS: WE MEASURED PN SYMPTOMS USING RELIABLE INSTRUMENTS AND DNAM LEVELS BY INFINIUM HUMANMETHYLATION450K BEADCHIP (N = 72). DNAM AGE WAS CALCULATED BY THE HORVATH, GRIM, AND HANNUM-BASED INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC AGE ESTIMATIONS. AA WAS DEFINED BY THE RESIDUAL REGRESSING ESTIMATED EPIGENETIC AGE ON CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. MIXED REGRESSION MODELS WERE FITTED FOR AA AND CHANGES IN AA TO STUDY THE ASSOCIATION OVER TIME. SEPARATE LINEAR REGRESSION MODELS AND A MIXED-EFFECTS MODEL WERE FITTED FOR AA AT EACH TIME POINT. RESULTS: HORVATH-AA, GRIM-AA, AND EXTRINSIC EPIGENETIC AA WERE SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED OVER TIME, WHILE INTRINSIC EPIGENETIC AA DID NOT EXHIBIT ANY TEMPORAL CHANGES. INCREASED AA WAS ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER ANXIETY AND FATIGUE, AS WELL AS WORSE COGNITIVE MEMORY, ADJUSTING FOR RACE, BMI, INCOME, CHEMOTHERAPY, RADIATION THERAPY, AND CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. INCREASED DNAM AGE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER ANXIETY OVER 2 YEARS. CONCLUSION: OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST DNAM AGE AND AA MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH PN SYMPTOMS OVER THE COURSE OF CANCER TREATMENT AND SURVIVORSHIP. SOME PN SYMPTOMS MAY BE AMENABLE TO PREVENTIVE INTERVENTIONS TARGETED TO EPIGENETIC CLOCKS THAT INFLUENCE AGING-ASSOCIATED PROCESSES. 2022 15 6460 35 TIME TO RELAPSE IN CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA AND DNA-METHYLATION-BASED BIOLOGICAL AGE. CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CLL) IS A MATURE B CELL NEOPLASM WITH A PREDILECTION FOR OLDER INDIVIDUALS. WHILE PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE IDENTIFIED EPIGENETIC SIGNATURES ASSOCIATED WITH CLL, WHETHER AGE-RELATED DNA METHYLATION CHANGES MODULATE CLL RELAPSE REMAINS ELUSIVE. IN THIS STUDY, WE EXAMINED THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION AND TIME TO CLL RELAPSE IN A PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATASET. DNA METHYLATION PROFILING OF 35 CLL PATIENTS PRIOR TO INITIATING CHEMOIMMUNOTHERAPY WAS PERFORMED USING THE INFINIUM HUMANMETHYLATION450 BEADCHIP. FOUR EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION METRICS (INTRINSIC EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION [IEAA], EXTRINSIC EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION [EEAA], PHENOAGE ACCELERATION [PHENOAA], AND GRIMAGE ACCELERATION [GRIMAA]) WERE ESTIMATED FROM BLOOD DNA METHYLATION LEVELS. LINEAR, QUANTILE, AND LOGISTIC REGRESSION AND RECEIVER OPERATING CHARACTERISTIC CURVE ANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED TO ASSESS THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EACH EPIGENETIC AGE METRIC AND TIME TO CLL RELAPSE. EEAA (P = 0.011) AND PHENOAA (P = 0.046) WERE NEGATIVELY AND GRIMAA (P = 0.040) WAS POSITIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH TIME TO CLL RELAPSE. SIMULTANEOUS ASSESSMENT OF EEAA AND GRIMAA IN MALE PATIENTS DISTINGUISHED PATIENTS WHO RELAPSED EARLY FROM PATIENTS WHO RELAPSED LATER (P = 0.039). NO ASSOCIATIONS WERE OBSERVED WITH IEAA. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION PRIOR TO CHEMOIMMUNOTHERAPY INITIATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH TIME TO CLL RELAPSE. OUR RESULTS PROVIDE NOVEL INSIGHT INTO THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN AGE-RELATED DNA METHYLATION CHANGES AND CLL RELAPSE AND MAY SERVE HAS BIOMARKERS FOR TREATMENT RELAPSE, AND POTENTIALLY, TREATMENT SELECTION. 2023 16 3637 33 INCREASED EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION IN THE HIDRADENITIS SUPPURATIVA SKIN. EPIGENETIC (OR DNA METHYLATION) AGE IS CALCULATED BASED ON METHYLATION OF CERTAIN CYTOSINE-GUANINE (CPG) REPEATS, AND IT CAN ACCURATELY ESTIMATE ONE'S CHRONOLOGIC AGE. IMPORTANTLY, EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION (EAA) IS HIGHLY PREDICTIVE OF AGE-ASSOCIATED MORBIDITY AND ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY. HIDRADENITIS SUPPURATIVA (HS) IS A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY SKIN DISEASE WITH SIGNIFICANT SYSTEMIC DISEASE BURDEN. HERE, WE PERFORMED A PILOT STUDY TO CALCULATE EAA FROM FORMALIN-FIXED PARAFFIN-EMBEDDED SKIN SAMPLES USING ILLUMINA INFINIUM METHYLATIONEPIC BEADCHIP ARRAYS. OUR RESULTS DEMONSTRATED NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN INTRINSIC EAA AMONG HS COMPARED TO CONTROLS (- 1.00 YEARS, P-VALUE = 0.52), SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN BOTH EXTRINSIC EAA (13.72 YEARS, P-VALUE < 0.001) AND PHENOAGE ACCELERATION (7.72 YEARS, P-VALUE = 0.003), AND A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN GRIMAGE ACCELERATION (- 5.14 YEARS, P-VALUE < 0.001). OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT THE ACCELERATION OF EPIGENETIC AGE IN THE HS SKIN MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH EXTRINSIC IMMUNE-RELATED CHANGES AND CAN POTENTIALLY SERVE AS A BIOMARKER OF THE PRESENT AND/OR FUTURE DISEASE BURDEN IN HS PATIENTS. 2023 17 1780 38 EDUCATION AND LIFESTYLE FACTORS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH DNA METHYLATION CLOCKS IN OLDER AFRICAN AMERICANS. DNA METHYLATION (DNAM) CLOCKS ARE IMPORTANT BIOMARKERS OF CELLULAR AGING AND ARE ASSOCIATED WITH A VARIETY OF AGE-RELATED CHRONIC DISEASES AND ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY. EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EDUCATION AND LIFESTYLE RISK FACTORS FOR AGE-RELATED DISEASES AND MULTIPLE DNAM CLOCKS CAN INCREASE THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW RISK FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO AGING AT THE CELLULAR LEVEL. THIS STUDY EXPLORED THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EDUCATION OR LIFESTYLE RISK FACTORS FOR AGE-RELATED DISEASES AND THE ACCELERATION OF FOUR DNAM CLOCKS, INCLUDING INTRINSIC (IEAA) AND EXTRINSIC EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION (EEAA), PHENOAGE ACCELERATION (PHENOAA), AND GRIMAGE ACCELERATION (GRIMAA) IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN PARTICIPANTS OF THE GENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY NETWORK OF ARTERIOPATHY. WE PERFORMED BOTH CROSS-SECTIONAL AND LONGITUDINAL ANALYSES. IN CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSES, GENDER, EDUCATION, BMI, SMOKING, AND ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION WERE ALL INDEPENDENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH GRIMAA, WHEREAS ONLY SOME OF THEM WERE ASSOCIATED WITH OTHER CLOCKS. THE EFFECT OF SMOKING AND EDUCATION ON GRIMAA VARIED BY GENDER. LONGITUDINAL ANALYSES SUGGEST THAT AGE AND BMI CONTINUED TO INCREASE GRIMAA, AND THAT AGE AND CURRENT SMOKING CONTINUED TO INCREASE PHENOAA AFTER CONTROLLING DNAM CLOCKS AT BASELINE. IN CONCLUSION, EDUCATION AND COMMON LIFESTYLE RISK FACTORS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH MULTIPLE DNAM CLOCKS. HOWEVER, THE ASSOCIATION WITH EACH RISK FACTOR VARIED BY CLOCK, WHICH SUGGESTS THAT DIFFERENT CLOCKS MAY CAPTURE ADVERSE EFFECTS FROM DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULI. 2019 18 3063 38 GENOME-WIDE DNA METHYLATION AND LONG-TERM AMBIENT AIR POLLUTION EXPOSURE IN KOREAN ADULTS. BACKGROUND: AMBIENT AIR POLLUTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH NUMEROUS ADVERSE HEALTH OUTCOMES, BUT THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS ARE NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD; EPIGENETIC EFFECTS INCLUDING ALTERED DNA METHYLATION COULD PLAY A ROLE. TO EVALUATE ASSOCIATIONS OF LONG-TERM AIR POLLUTION EXPOSURE WITH DNA METHYLATION IN BLOOD, WE CONDUCTED AN EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY IN A KOREAN CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE COHORT (N = 100 INCLUDING 60 CASES) USING ILLUMINA'S INFINIUM HUMANMETHYLATION450K BEADCHIP. ANNUAL AVERAGE CONCENTRATIONS OF PARTICULATE MATTER