1  1351 132 DETERMINATION OF SALIVA EPIGENETIC AGE IN INFANCY, AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH PARENTAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS AND PREGNANCY OUTCOMES. EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION (AA) HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES AND MANY CHRONIC CONDITIONS. WE ESTIMATED, IN THE NINFEA BIRTH COHORT, INFANT SALIVA EPIGENETIC AGE, AND INVESTIGATED WHETHER PARENTAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC POSITION (SEP) AND PREGNANCY OUTCOMES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH INFANT EPIGENETIC AA. A TOTAL OF 139 SALIVA SAMPLES COLLECTED AT ON AVERAGE 10.8 (RANGE 7-17) MONTHS WERE USED TO ESTIMATE HORVATH'S DNA METHYLATION AGE. EPIGENETIC AA WAS DEFINED AS THE RESIDUAL FROM A LINEAR REGRESSION OF EPIGENETIC AGE ON CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. LINEAR REGRESSION MODELS WERE USED TO TEST THE ASSOCIATIONS OF PARENTAL SEP AND PREGNANCY OUTCOMES WITH SALIVA EPIGENETIC AA. A MODERATE POSITIVE ASSOCIATION WAS FOUND BETWEEN DNA METHYLATION AGE AND CHRONOLOGICAL AGE, WITH THE MEDIAN ABSOLUTE DIFFERENCE OF 6.8 MONTHS (STANDARD DEVIATION [SD] 3.9). THE EVIDENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE INDICATORS OF LOW SEP AND EPIGENETIC AA WAS WEAK; INFANTS BORN TO UNEMPLOYED MOTHERS OR WITH LOW EDUCATION HAD ON AVERAGE 1 MONTH HIGHER EPIGENETIC AGE THAN INFANTS OF MOTHERS WITH HIGH EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT (COEFFICIENT 0.78 MONTHS, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS [CIS]: -0.79 TO 2.34 FOR LOW/MEDIUM EDUCATION; 0.96, 95% CI: -1.81 TO 3.73 FOR UNEMPLOYMENT). THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE FOR ASSOCIATION OF GESTATIONAL AGE, BIRTHWEIGHT OR CAESAREAN SECTION WITH INFANT EPIGENETIC AA. USING THE HORVATH'S METHOD, DNA METHYLATION AGE CAN BE FAIRLY ACCURATELY PREDICTED FROM SALIVA SAMPLES ALREADY IN THE FIRST MONTHS OF LIFE. THIS STUDY DID NOT REVEAL CLEAR ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN EITHER PREGNANCY OUTCOMES OR PARENTAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS AND INFANT SALIVA EPIGENETIC AA.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
2   832  41 CHARACTERIZING OPRM1 DNA METHYLATION IN PRESCRIPTION OPIOID USERS WITH CHRONIC MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN. INTRODUCTION: MANY PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC PAIN USE PRESCRIPTION OPIOIDS. EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF THE MU-OPIOID RECEPTOR 1 (OPRM1) GENE, WHICH CODES FOR THE TARGET PROTEIN OF OPIOIDS, MAY INFLUENCE VULNERABILITY TO OPIOID ABUSE AND RESPONSE TO OPIOID PHARMACOTHERAPY, POTENTIALLY AFFECTING PAIN OUTCOMES. OBJECTIVE: OUR OBJECTIVE WAS TO INVESTIGATE ASSOCIATIONS OF CLINICAL AND SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS WITH OPRM1 DNA METHYLATION IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN ON LONG-TERM PRESCRIPTION OPIOIDS. METHODS: SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES, SURVEY DATA (RAPID ESTIMATE OF ADULT HEALTH LITERACY IN MEDICINE-SHORT FORM, FUNCTIONAL COMORBIDITY INDEX [FCI], PROMIS 43V2.1 PROFILE, OPIOID RISK TOOL, AND PROMIS PRESCRIPTION PAIN MEDICATION MISUSE), AND SALIVA SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED. THE GENOMIC DNA EXTRACTED FROM SALIVA SAMPLES WERE BISULFITE CONVERTED, AMPLIFIED BY POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION, AND PROCESSED FOR OPRM1-TARGETED DNA METHYLATION ANALYSIS ON A PYROSEQUENCING INSTRUMENT (QIAGEN INC, VALENCIA, CA). GENERAL LINEAR MODELS WERE USED TO EXAMINE THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE PREDICTORS AND OPRM1 DNA METHYLATION. RESULTS: DATA FROM 112 PATIENTS WERE ANALYZED. THE BEST-FITTED MULTIVARIABLE MODEL INDICATED, COMPARED WITH THEIR COUNTERPARTS, PATIENTS WITH > EIGHTH GRADE READING LEVEL, DEGENERATIVE DISK DISEASE, SUBSTANCE ABUSE COMORBIDITY, AND OPIOID USE < 1 YEAR (COMPARED WITH >5 YEARS), HAD AVERAGE METHYLATION LEVELS THAT WERE 7.7% (95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI] 0.95%, 14.4%), 11.7% (95% CI 2.7%, 21.1%), 21.7% (95% CI 10.7%, 32.5%), AND 16.1% (95% CI 3.3%, 28.8%) HIGHER THAN THE REFERENCE GROUPS, RESPECTIVELY. METHYLATION LEVELS WERE 2.2% (95% CI 0.64%, 3.7%) LOWER FOR EVERY 1 UNIT INCREASE IN FCI AND GREATER BY 0.45% (95% CI 0.08%, 0.82%) FOR EVERY FATIGUE T SCORE UNIT INCREASE. CONCLUSIONS: OPRM1 METHYLATION LEVELS VARIED BY SEVERAL PATIENT FACTORS. FURTHER STUDIES ARE WARRANTED TO REPLICATE THESE FINDINGS AND DETERMINE POTENTIAL CLINICAL UTILITY.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
3  6315  34 THE RELATIONSHIP OF MATERNAL AND CHILD METHYLATION OF THE GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR NR3C1 DURING EARLY CHILDHOOD AND SUBSEQUENT CHILD PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AT SCHOOL-AGE IN THE CONTEXT OF MATERNAL INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE-RELATED POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. INTRODUCTION: INTERPERSONAL VIOLENT (IPV) EXPERIENCES WHEN THEY BEGIN IN CHILDHOOD AND CONTINUE IN VARIOUS FORMS DURING ADULTHOOD OFTEN LEAD TO CHRONIC POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) THAT IS ASSOCIATED IN MULTIPLE STUDIES WITH HYPOCORTISOLISM AND LOWER PERCENTAGE OF METHYLATION OF THE PROMOTER REGION OF THE GENE CODING FOR THE GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR (NR3C1). THIS PROSPECTIVE, LONGITUDINAL STUDY EXAMINED THE RELATIONSHIP OF NR3C1 METHYLATION AMONG MOTHERS WITH IPV-RELATED PTSD AND THEIR TODDLERS AND THEN LOOKED AT THE RELATIONSHIP OF MATERNAL NR3C1 METHYLATION AND CHILD PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AT SCHOOL AGE. METHODS: FORTY-EIGHT MOTHERS WERE EVALUATED FOR LIFE-EVENTS HISTORY AND POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER VIA STRUCTURED CLINICAL INTERVIEW WHEN THEIR CHILDREN WERE AGES 12-42 MONTHS (MEAN AGE 26.7 MONTHS, SD 8.8). THEIR CHILDREN'S PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN TERMS OF INTERNALIZING SYMPTOMS AND EXTERNALIZING BEHAVIORS WAS EVALUATED USING THE CHILD BEHAVIOR CHECKLIST AT AGES 5-9 YEARS (MEAN AGE 7 YEARS, SD 1.1). PERCENTAGE OF METHYLATION FOR THE NR3C1 GENE PROMOTER REGION WAS ASSESSED FROM DNA EXTRACTED FROM MATERNAL AND CHILD SALIVA USING BISULFITE PYROSEQUENCING. DATA ANALYSIS INVOLVED PARAMETRIC AND NON-PARAMETRIC CORRELATIONS AND MULTIPLE LINEAR AND LOGISTIC REGRESSION MODELING. RESULTS: LOGISTIC REGRESSION MODELS USING CHILD NR3C1 METHYLATION AS THE DEPENDENT VARIABLE AND MATERNAL NR3C1 METHYLATION AND PTSD GROUP STATUS AS PREDICTORS, AS WELL AS THE INTERACTION INDICATED THAT ALL THREE OF THESE SIGNIFICANTLY PREDICTED CHILD NR3C1 METHYLATION. THESE FINDINGS REMAINED SIGNIFICANT WHEN CONTROLLING FOR CHILD AGE, SEX AND MATERNAL CHILD ABUSE HISTORY. OVERALL, MATERNAL NR3C1 METHYLATION WHEN CHILDREN WERE TODDLERS WAS NEGATIVELY AND SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH CHILD EXTERNALIZING BEHAVIOR SEVERITY AT SCHOOL AGE. DISCUSSION: WE FOUND THAT CORRELATIONS BETWEEN MOTHERS AND THEIR CHILDREN OF NR3C1 METHYLATION LEVELS OVERALL AND AT ALL INDIVIDUAL CPG SITES OF INTEREST WERE SIGNIFICANT ONLY IN THE IPV-PTSD GROUP. THE LATTER FINDINGS SUPPORT THAT NR3C1 METHYLATION IN MOTHERS POSITIVELY AND STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANTLY CORRELATES WITH NR3C1 METHYLATION IN THEIR CHILDREN ONLY IN PRESENCE OF IPV-PTSD IN THE MOTHERS. THIS MATERNAL EPIGENETIC SIGNATURE WITH RESPECT TO THIS GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR IS SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH CHILD BEHAVIOR THAT MAY WELL POSE A RISK FOR INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF VIOLENCE AND RELATED PSYCHOPATHOLOGY.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
4  4612  29 NEONATAL PAIN AND COMT VAL158MET GENOTYPE IN RELATION TO SEROTONIN TRANSPORTER (SLC6A4) PROMOTER METHYLATION IN VERY PRETERM CHILDREN AT SCHOOL AGE. CHILDREN BORN VERY PRETERM ARE EXPOSED TO REPEATED NEONATAL PROCEDURES THAT INDUCE PAIN AND STRESS DURING HOSPITALIZATION IN THE NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT (NICU). THE COMT VAL158MET GENOTYPE IS INVOLVED WITH PAIN SENSITIVITY, AND EARLY LIFE STRESS IS IMPLICATED IN ALTERED EXPRESSION OF METHYLATION OF THE SEROTONIN TRANSPORTER. WE EXAMINED: (1) WHETHER METHYLATION OF THE SEROTONIN TRANSPORTER GENE (SLC6A4) PROMOTER DIFFERS BETWEEN VERY PRETERM CHILDREN AND FULL-TERM CONTROLS AT SCHOOL AGE, (2) RELATIONSHIPS WITH CHILD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS, AND (3) WHETHER THE EXTENT OF NEONATAL PAIN EXPOSURE INTERACTS WITH THE COMT VAL158MET GENOTYPE TO PREDICT SLC6A4 METHYLATION AT 7 YEARS IN THE VERY PRETERM CHILDREN. WE EXAMINED THE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN THE COMT GENOTYPES, NEONATAL PAIN EXPOSURE (ADJUSTED FOR NEONATAL CLINICAL CONFOUNDERS), SLC6A4 METHYLATION AND BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS. VERY PRETERM CHILDREN HAD SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER METHYLATION AT 7/10 CPG SITES IN THE SLC6A4 PROMOTER COMPARED TO FULL-TERM CONTROLS AT 7 YEARS. NEONATAL PAIN (ADJUSTED FOR CLINICAL CONFOUNDERS) WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH TOTAL CHILD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS ON THE CHILD BEHAVIOR CHECKLIST (CBCL) QUESTIONNAIRE (ADJUSTED FOR CONCURRENT STRESSORS AND 5HTTLPR GENOTYPE) (P = 0.035). CBCL TOTAL PROBLEMS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER SLC6A4 METHYLATION IN VERY PRETERM CHILDREN (P = 0.01). NEONATAL PAIN (ADJUSTED FOR CLINICAL CONFOUNDERS) AND COMT MET/MET GENOTYPE WERE ASSOCIATED WITH SLC6A4 PROMOTER METHYLATION IN VERY PRETERM CHILDREN AT 7 YEARS (P = 0.001). THESE FINDINGS PROVIDE EVIDENCE THAT BOTH GENETIC PREDISPOSITION AND EARLY ENVIRONMENT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED IN UNDERSTANDING SUSCEPTIBILITY FOR DEVELOPING BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS IN THIS VULNERABLE POPULATION.	2014	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
5  2630  30 EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY OF POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IDENTIFIES NOVEL LOCI IN U.S. MILITARY VETERANS. POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) IS A CHRONIC AND DISABLING PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER PREVALENT IN MILITARY VETERANS. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS HAVE BEEN IMPLICATED IN THE ETIOLOGY OF PTSD, WITH DNA METHYLATION BEING THE MOST STUDIED TO IDENTIFY NOVEL MOLECULAR BIOMARKERS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS DISORDER. WE PERFORMED ONE OF THE LARGEST SINGLE-SAMPLE EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES (EWAS) OF PTSD TO DATE. OUR SAMPLE INCLUDED 1135 MALE EUROPEAN-AMERICAN U.S. VETERANS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE NATIONAL HEALTH AND RESILIENCE IN VETERANS STUDY (NHRVS). DNA WAS COLLECTED FROM SALIVA SAMPLES AND THE ILLUMINA HUMANMETHYLATION EPIC BEADCHIP WAS USED FOR THE METHYLATION ANALYSIS. PTSD WAS ASSESSED USING THE PTSD CHECKLIST. AN EWAS WAS CONDUCTED USING LINEAR REGRESSION ADJUSTED FOR AGE, CELL-TYPE PROPORTIONS, FIRST 10 PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS, AND SMOKING STATUS. AFTER BONFERRONI CORRECTION, WE IDENTIFIED SIX GENOME-WIDE SIGNIFICANT (GWS) CPG SITES ASSOCIATED WITH PAST-MONTH PTSD AND THREE CPGS WITH LIFETIME PTSD (P(RANGE) = 10(-10)-10(-8)). THESE CPG SITES MAP TO GENES INVOLVED IN IMMUNE FUNCTION, TRANSCRIPTION REGULATION, AXONAL GUIDANCE, CELL SIGNALING, AND PROTEIN BINDING. AMONG THESE, SENP7, WHICH IS INVOLVED IN TRANSCRIPTION REGULATION AND HAS BEEN LINKED TO RISK-TAKING BEHAVIOR AND ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES, REPLICATED IN AN INDEPENDENT VETERAN COHORT AND WAS DOWNREGULATED IN MEDIAL ORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX OF PTSD POSTMORTEM BRAIN TISSUE. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST POTENTIAL EPIGENETIC BIOMARKERS OF PTSD THAT MAY HELP INFORM THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF THIS DISORDER IN VETERANS AND OTHER TRAUMA-AFFECTED POPULATIONS.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
6  2215  26 EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS FOLLOWING NOXIOUS STIMULI IN INFANTS. PURPOSE: TO RECRUIT HEALTHY FULL- AND PRETERM INFANTS INTO GENETIC RESEARCH AND DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A NONINVASIVE DNA SAMPLING TECHNIQUE FOR COMPARING EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS. BACKGROUND: NOXIOUS STIMULI DURING A VULNERABLE PERIOD OF INFANT NEURONAL PLASTICITY MAY TRIGGER LONG-TERM EPIGENETIC CHANGES AFFECTING NEURODEVELOPMENT, PAIN MODULATION, AND REACTIVITY. RECOGNIZING EPIGENETIC PAIN FINDINGS IS PROBLEMATIC BECAUSE PARENTS ARE RELUCTANT TO ENROLL NEWBORNS INTO GENETIC RESEARCH. METHODS: DESIGN: WITHIN-SUBJECT CHANGE OVER TIME CANDIDATE-GENE DNA METHYLATION ASSOCIATION STUDY. SETTING/ SAMPLE: URBAN TEACHING HOSPITAL'S NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT AND NEWBORN NURSERY. CONVENIENCE SAMPLE OF HEALTHY FULL- (>37 WEEKS, N = 6) AND PRETERM (<37 WEEKS, N = 6) INFANTS. PROCEDURE: PARENTS PARTICIPATED IN A GENETIC PRESENTATION PRIOR TO INFORMED CONSENT. INFANT BUCCAL SALIVA WAS COLLECTED AFTER ADMISSION TO THE UNIT AND PRIOR TO DISCHARGE. ANALYSIS: THE METHYLATION PATTERN AT THE 5' END OF MICRO-OPIOID RECEPTOR GENE ( OPRM1) WAS EXAMINED. DNA WAS TREATED WITH BISULFITE TO CONVERT ALL CYTOSINES TO URACIL RESIDUES, LEAVING METHYLATED CYTOSINES UNCHANGED. SEQUENCING OF UNTREATED AND BISULFITE-CONVERTED DNA WAS CARRIED OUT. THE SEQUENCES OF UNCONVERTED AND BISULFITE-CONVERTED DNA WERE ALIGNED WITH CLUSTALW, FIDELITY OF THE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION AND THE SEQUENCING REACTION EVALUATED, AND THE METHYLATION PATTERN IDENTIFIED. RESULTS: RECRUITMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF A NONINVASIVE DNA SAMPLING TECHNIQUE FOR COMPARING EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS WERE SUCCESSFUL; HOWEVER, INFANT STRESS DID NOT PRODUCE A CHANGE IN OPRM1 METHYLATION EXPRESSION. RELEVANCE: THIS STUDY ESTABLISHED THE FEASIBILITY OF RECRUITING HEALTHY FULL-TERM INFANTS INTO GENETIC RESEARCH AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF NONINVASIVE DNA SAMPLING FOR COMPARING EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION IN INFANTS.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
7  2734  41 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
8  1956  42 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
9  5957  39 TELOMERE LENGTH AND EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION IN ADOLESCENTS WITH ANXIETY DISORDERS. EVIDENCE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENETICS AND MENTAL HEALTH ARE FLOURISHING. HOWEVER, FEW STUDIES ARE EVALUATING EARLY BIOMARKERS THAT MIGHT LINK GENES, ENVIRONMENT, AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY. WE AIMED TO STUDY TELOMERE LENGTH (TL) AND EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION (AA) IN A COHORT OF ADOLESCENTS WITH AND WITHOUT ANXIETY DISORDERS (N = 234). WE EVALUATED A REPRESENTATIVE SUBSAMPLE OF PARTICIPANTS AT BASELINE AND AFTER 5 YEARS (N = 76) AND CATEGORIZED THEM ACCORDING TO THEIR ANXIETY DISORDER DIAGNOSIS AT BOTH TIME POINTS: (1) CONTROL GROUP (NO ANXIETY DISORDER, N = 18), (2) VARIABLE GROUP (ANXIETY DISORDER IN ONE EVALUATION, N = 38), AND (3) PERSISTENT GROUP (ANXIETY DISORDER AT BOTH TIME POINTS, N = 20). WE ASSESSED RELATIVE MEAN TL BY REAL-TIME QUANTITATIVE PCR AND DNA METHYLATION BY INFINIUM HUMANMETHYLATION450 BEADCHIP. WE CALCULATED AA USING THE HORVATH AGE ESTIMATION ALGORITHM AND ANALYZED DIFFERENCES AMONG GROUPS USING GENERALIZED LINEAR MIXED MODELS. THE PERSISTENT GROUP OF ANXIETY DISORDER DID NOT CHANGE TL OVER TIME (P = 0.495). THE VARIABLE GROUP HAD HIGHER BASELINE TL (P = 0.003) BUT NO ACCELERATED TL EROSION IN COMPARISON TO THE NON-ANXIETY CONTROL GROUP (P = 0.053). FURTHERMORE, THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCES IN AA AMONG GROUPS OVER TIME. OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT ADOLESCENTS WITH CHRONIC ANXIETY DID NOT CHANGE TELOMERE LENGTH OVER TIME, WHICH COULD BE RELATED TO A DELAY IN NEURONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THIS PERIOD OF LIFE.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
10  5085  42 PILOT STUDY OF ABSOLUTE TELOMERE LENGTHS IN PRETERM INFANTS. BACKGROUND: ANNUALLY, APPROXIMATELY 15 MILLION BABIES ARE BORN PRETERM (<37 WEEKS GESTATIONAL AGE) GLOBALLY. IN THE NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT (NICU) ENVIRONMENT, INFANTS ARE EXPOSED TO REPEATED STRESSFUL OR PAINFUL PROCEDURES AS PART OF ROUTINE LIFESAVING CARE. THESE PROCEDURES HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS THAT MAY LEAD TO AN INCREASED RISK OF NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS. TELOMERE LENGTH HAS BEEN NEGATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH ADVERSE LIFE EXPERIENCES IN STUDIES OF ADULTS. OBJECTIVES: THIS PILOT STUDY AIMED TO DESCRIBE TELOMERE LENGTH IN A SAMPLE OF PRETERM INFANTS AT NICU DISCHARGE AND EXAMINE ANY ASSOCIATIONS WITH PAIN, FEEDING METHOD, AND NEURODEVELOPMENT. METHODS: THIS DESCRIPTIVE PILOT STUDY SAMPLE INCLUDES BASELINE ABSOLUTE TELOMERE LENGTH (ATL) OF 36 PRETERM INFANTS IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO DISCHARGE. QUANTITATIVE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION WAS USED TO DETERMINE ATL. INFANT DEMOGRAPHICS, PAIN/STRESS, TYPE OF FEEDING, ANTIBIOTIC USE, NEURODEVELOPMENT, AND BUCCAL SWAB DATA WERE COLLECTED. DESCRIPTIVE DATA ANALYSIS WAS USED TO DESCRIBE THE TELOMERE LENGTH USING GRAPHS. RESULTS: AMONG OUR PRETERM INFANT SAMPLES, THE MEAN ATL WAS FAR GREATER THAN THE AVERAGE ADULT TELOMERE LENGTH. ALTHOUGH NO SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATIONS WERE FOUND BETWEEN ATL AND PAIN, FEEDING METHOD, AND NEURODEVELOPMENT, A TREND BETWEEN SEX WAS NOTED WHERE MALE TELOMERE LENGTHS WERE SHORTER THAN FEMALES AS THEY AGED. DISCUSSION: THIS IS ONE OF FEW STUDIES TO EVALUATE PRETERM INFANT TELOMERE LENGTH. ALTHOUGH OTHER RESEARCHERS HAVE USED RELATIVE TELOMERE LENGTH, WE USED THE MORE ACCURATE ATL. WE FOUND NONSIGNIFICANT SHORTER TELOMERE LENGTHS AMONG MALES. ADDITIONAL LARGE-SCALE, LONGITUDINAL STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO BETTER IDENTIFY THE PREDICTORS OF TELOMERE LENGTH AT THE TIME OF DISCHARGE FROM NICU.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
11   403  49 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	

12  4916  26 PAIN-RELATED INCREASE IN SEROTONIN TRANSPORTER GENE METHYLATION ASSOCIATES WITH EMOTIONAL REGULATION IN 4.5-YEAR-OLD PRETERM-BORN CHILDREN. AIM: THE MAIN GOAL OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PAIN-RELATED INCREASE IN SEROTONIN TRANSPORTER GENE (SLC6A4) METHYLATION AND EMOTIONAL DYSREGULATION IN 4.5-YEAR-OLD PRETERM CHILDREN COMPARED WITH FULL-TERM MATCHED COUNTERPARTS. METHODS: PRETERM (N = 29) AND FULL-TERM (N = 26) CHILDREN RECRUITED FROM TWO ITALIAN HOSPITALS WERE FOLLOWED-UP FROM OCTOBER 2011 TO DECEMBER 2017. SLC6A4 METHYLATION WAS ASSESSED FROM CORD BLOOD AT BIRTH FROM BOTH GROUPS AND PERIPHERAL BLOOD AT DISCHARGE FOR PRETERM ONES. AT 4.5 YEARS, EMOTIONAL REGULATION (IE, ANGER, FEAR AND SADNESS) WAS ASSESSED THROUGH AN OBSERVATIONAL STANDARDISED PROCEDURE. RESULTS: PRETERM CHILDREN (18 FEMALES; MEAN AGE = 4.5, RANGE = 4.3-4.8) SHOWED GREATER ANGER DISPLAY COMPARED WITH FULL-TERM CONTROLS (14 FEMALES; MEAN AGE = 4.5, RANGE = 4.4-4.9) IN RESPONSE TO EMOTIONAL STRESS. CONTROLLING FOR ADVERSE LIFE EVENTS OCCURRENCE FROM DISCHARGE TO 4.5 YEARS AND SLC6A4 METHYLATION AT BIRTH, CPG-SPECIFIC SLC6A4 METHYLATION IN THE NEONATAL PERIOD WAS PREDICTIVE OF GREATER ANGER DISPLAY IN PRETERM CHILDREN BUT NOT IN FULL-TERM ONES. CONCLUSION: THESE FINDINGS CONTRIBUTE TO HIGHLIGHT HOW EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF SEROTONIN TRANSPORTER GENE IN RESPONSE TO NICU PAIN EXPOSURE CONTRIBUTES TO LONG-LASTING PROGRAMMING OF ANGER REGULATION IN PRETERM CHILDREN.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
13  2777  38 EXTREMELY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT AND ACCELERATED BIOLOGICAL AGING. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: EXTREMELY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT (ELBW) (<1000 G) SURVIVORS ARE EXPOSED TO ELEVATED LEVELS OF PHYSIOLOGIC STRESS DURING THEIR LIVES AND MAY BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO ACCELERATED AGING. USING THE OLDEST KNOWN LONGITUDINALLY FOLLOWED COHORT OF ELBW SURVIVORS, WE COMPARED BIOLOGICAL AGING IN THIS GROUP USING AN EPIGENETIC CLOCK TO A SAMPLE OF MATCHED NORMAL BIRTH WEIGHT (NBW) (>2500 G) CONTROL PARTICIPANTS. METHODS: BUCCAL CELLS WERE COLLECTED FROM 45 ELBW SURVIVORS AND 49 NBW CONTROL PARTICIPANTS AT 30 TO 35 YEARS OF AGE. EPIGENETIC AGE WAS CALCULATED FROM THE WEIGHTED AVERAGE OF DNA METHYLATION AT 353 CYTOSINE-PHOSPHATE-GUANINE SEQUENCE WITHIN DNA SITES, BY USING THE ILLUMINA INFINIUM HUMAN METHYLATION EPIC 850K BEADCHIP ARRAY. RESULTS: BEFORE AND AFTER STATISTICALLY ADJUSTING FOR NEUROSENSORY IMPAIRMENT AND THE PRESENCE OF CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS, A SIGNIFICANT SEX BY BIRTH WEIGHT GROUP INTERACTION WAS OBSERVED IN THE 353-SITE EPIGENETIC-CLOCK ASSAY (P = .03), WHEREBY ELBW MEN HAD A SIGNIFICANTLY OLDER EPIGENETIC AGE THAN NBW MEN (4.6 YEARS; P = .01). WOMEN BORN AT ELBW WERE NOT FOUND TO BE EPIGENETICALLY OLDER THAN THEIR NBW PEERS. CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY SUGGEST THAT PRENATAL EXPOSURES MAY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN AGING, AND THAT MEN BORN PRETERM MAY EXPERIENCE ACCELERATED AGING RELATIVE TO THEIR PEERS. WE FURTHER HIGHLIGHT THE NEED TO MONITOR AND PROMOTE THE HEALTH OF PRETERM SURVIVORS, WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON HEALTHY AGING ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
14   521  35 ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN MATERNAL PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS, DNA METHYLATION, AND NEWBORN BIRTH WEIGHT IDENTIFIED BY INVESTIGATING METHYLATION AT INDIVIDUAL, REGIONAL, AND GENOME LEVELS. STRESS IS KNOWN TO AFFECT HEALTH THROUGHOUT LIFE AND INTO FUTURE GENERATIONS, BUT THE UNDERLYING MOLECULAR MECHANISMS ARE UNKNOWN. WE TESTED THE HYPOTHESIS THAT MATERNAL PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS INFLUENCES DNA METHYLATION (DNAM), WHICH IN TURN IMPACTS NEWBORN HEALTH OUTCOMES. SPECIFICALLY, WE ANALYZED DNAM AT INDIVIDUAL, REGIONAL, AND GENOME-WIDE LEVELS TO TEST FOR ASSOCIATIONS WITH MATERNAL STRESS AND NEWBORN BIRTH WEIGHT. MATERNAL VENOUS BLOOD AND NEWBORN CORD BLOOD (N = 24 AND 22, RESPECTIVELY) WERE ASSAYED FOR METHYLATION AT APPROXIMATELY 450,000 CPG SITES. METHYLATION WAS ANALYZED BY EXAMINING CPG SITES INDIVIDUALLY IN AN EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY (EWAS), AS REGIONAL GROUPS USING VARIABLY METHYLATED REGION (VMR) ANALYSIS IN MATERNAL BLOOD ONLY, AND THROUGH THE EPIGENOME-WIDE MEASURES USING GENOME-WIDE MEAN METHYLATION (GMM), HORVATH'S EPIGENETIC CLOCK, AND MITOTIC AGE. THESE METHYLATION MEASURES WERE TESTED FOR ASSOCIATION WITH THREE MEASURES OF MATERNAL STRESS (MATERNAL WAR TRAUMA, CHRONIC STRESS, AND EXPERIENCE OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE) AND ONE HEALTH OUTCOME (NEWBORN BIRTH WEIGHT). WE OBSERVED THAT MATERNAL EXPERIENCES OF WAR TRAUMA, CHRONIC STRESS, AND SEXUAL ASSAULT WERE EACH ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASED NEWBORN BIRTH WEIGHT (P < 1.95 X 10(-7) IN ALL CASES). TESTING INDIVIDUAL CPG SITES USING EWAS, WE OBSERVED NO ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN DNAM AND ANY MEASURE OF MATERNAL STRESS OR NEWBORN BIRTH WEIGHT IN EITHER MATERNAL OR CORD BLOOD, AFTER BONFERRONI MULTIPLE TESTING CORRECTION. HOWEVER, THE TOP-RANKED CPG SITE IN MATERNAL BLOOD THAT ASSOCIATED WITH MATERNAL CHRONIC STRESS AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE BEFORE MULTIPLE TESTING CORRECTION IS LOCATED NEAR THE SPON1 GENE. TESTING AT A REGIONAL LEVEL, WE FOUND INCREASED METHYLATION OF A VMR IN MATERNAL BLOOD NEAR SPON1 THAT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC STRESS AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE AFTER BONFERRONI MULTIPLE TESTING CORRECTION (P = 1.95 X 10(-7) AND 8.3 X 10(-6), RESPECTIVELY). AT THE EPIGENOMIC LEVEL, CORD BLOOD GMM WAS ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER LEVELS OF WAR TRAUMA (P = 0.025) AND WAS SUGGESTIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SEXUAL VIOLENCE (P = 0.053). THE OTHER TWO EPIGENOME-WIDE MEASURES WERE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH MATERNAL STRESS OR NEWBORN BIRTH WEIGHT IN EITHER TISSUE TYPE. DESPITE OUR SMALL SAMPLE SIZE, WE IDENTIFIED ASSOCIATIONS EVEN AFTER CONSERVATIVE MULTIPLE TESTING CORRECTION. SPECIFICALLY, WE FOUND ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN DNAM AND THE THREE MEASURES OF MATERNAL STRESS ACROSS BOTH TISSUES; SPECIFICALLY, A VMR IN MATERNAL BLOOD AND GMM IN CORD BLOOD WERE BOTH ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT MEASURES OF MATERNAL STRESS. THE ASSOCIATION OF CORD BLOOD GMM, BUT NOT MATERNAL BLOOD GMM, WITH MATERNAL STRESS MAY SUGGEST DIFFERENT RESPONSES TO STRESS IN MOTHER AND NEWBORN. IT IS NOTEWORTHY THAT WE FOUND ASSOCIATIONS ONLY WHEN CPG SITES WERE ANALYZED IN AGGREGATE, EITHER AS VMRS OR AS A BROAD SUMMARY MEASURE OF GMM.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
15  4061  33 MATERNAL ADVERSITIES DURING PREGNANCY AND CORD BLOOD OXYTOCIN RECEPTOR (OXTR) DNA METHYLATION. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER MATERNAL ADVERSITIES AND CORTISOL LEVELS DURING PREGNANCY PREDICT CORD BLOOD DNA METHYLATION OF THE OXYTOCIN RECEPTOR (OXTR). WE COLLECTED CORD BLOOD OF 39 BABIES BORN TO MOTHERS PARTICIPATING IN A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY (N = 100) CONDUCTED IN BASEL, SWITZERLAND (2007-10). MOTHERS COMPLETED THE INVENTORY OF LIFE EVENTS (SECOND TRIMESTER: T2), THE EDINBURGH POSTNATAL DEPRESSION SCALE (EPDS, THIRD TRIMESTER: T3), THE TRIER INVENTORY OF CHRONIC STRESS (TICS-K, 1-3 WEEKS POSTPARTUM) AND PROVIDED SALIVA SAMPLES (T2, T3) FOR MATERNAL CORTISOL PROFILES, AS COMPUTED BY THE AREA UNDER THE CURVE WITH RESPECT TO GROUND (AUCG) OR INCREASE (AUCI) FOR THE CORTISOL AWAKENING RESPONSE (CAR) AND FOR DIURNAL CORTISOL PROFILES (DAY). OXTR DNA METHYLATION WAS QUANTIFIED USING SEQUENOM EPITYPER. THE NUMBER OF STRESSFUL LIFE EVENTS (P = 0.032), EPDS SCORE (P = 0.007) AND CORTISOL AUCGS AT T2 (CAR: P = 0.020; DAY: P = 0.024) WERE NEGATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH OXTR DNA METHYLATION. OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT DISTINCT PRENATAL ADVERSITIES PREDICT DECREASED DNA METHYLATION IN A GENE THAT IS RELEVANT FOR CHILDBIRTH, MATERNAL BEHAVIOR AND WELLBEING OF MOTHER AND OFFSPRING. IF A REDUCED OXTR METHYLATION INCREASES OXTR EXPRESSION, OUR FINDINGS COULD SUGGEST AN EPIGENETIC ADAPTATION TO AN ADVERSE EARLY ENVIRONMENT.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
16   325  30 ALLELE-SPECIFIC DNA METHYLATION LEVEL OF FKBP5 IS ASSOCIATED WITH POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. BACKGROUND: FK506-BINDING PROTEIN 5 (FKBP5) BINDS TO GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTORS AND MODULATES GLUCOCORTICOID SENSITIVITY. THE FKBP5 GENE HAS BEEN IMPLICATED IN THE DYSREGULATION OF HUMAN STRESS RESPONSES, CONTRIBUTING TO THE RISK AND TREATMENT RESPONSE OF STRESS-RELATED DISORDERS. THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINED WHETHER EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN FKBP5 ARE ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) STATUS IN THE CONTEXT OF FKBP5 GENETIC VARIATION (RS1360780 POLYMORPHISM) AMONG MALE VETERANS EXPOSED TO COMBAT TRAUMA. METHODS: KOREAN MALE VETERANS WHO SERVED ON ACTIVE DUTY DURING THE VIETNAM WAR WERE CATEGORIZED INTO 2 GROUPS: WITH PTSD (N = 123) AND WITHOUT PTSD (N = 116). THE GENOTYPE OF FKBP5 RS1360780 AND DNA METHYLATION LEVELS OF TWO CPG SITES AT THE FKBP5 INTRON 7 REGION WERE ASSESSED IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD. ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE WAS PERFORMED TO EXAMINE MAIN AND INTERACTION EFFECTS OF PTSD STATUS AND FKBP5 GENOTYPE ON FKBP5 DNA METHYLATION LEVEL, WITH AGE, TRAUMA LEVELS, AND ALCOHOL USE AS COVARIATES. RESULTS: A SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECT OF FKBP5 RS1360780 AND PTSD AND AN INTERACTION EFFECT BETWEEN GENOTYPE AND PTSD STATUS WERE FOUND ON MEAN FKBP5 DNA METHYLATION LEVEL. THE T ALLELE OF RS1360780 WAS ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER FKBP5 METHYLATION LEVEL. IN ADDITION, THE PTSD GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER METHYLATION THAN DID THE NON-PTSD GROUP AMONG VETERANS CARRYING THE RISK T ALLELE (N = 96), WHILE NO GROUP DIFFERENCE WAS OBSERVED ON METHYLATION LEVELS AMONG VETERANS WITH THE CC GENOTYPE (N = 143). AMONG VETERANS CARRYING THE T ALLELE, FKBP5 METHYLATION LEVELS WERE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH THE SEVERITY OF PTSD SYMPTOMS. CONCLUSIONS: THE PRESENT STUDY DEMONSTRATED DIFFERENT FKBP5 METHYLATION LEVELS IN PTSD DEPENDING ON FKBP5 GENETIC VARIATION AMONG VETERANS EXPOSED TO COMBAT TRAUMA. THE PRESENT FINDING SUGGESTS THAT THE GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC MODULATION OF FKBP5 IS INVOLVED IN THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF PTSD. FURTHER LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH INVOLVING PEOPLE EXPOSED TO TRAUMA IS REQUIRED TO UNDERSTAND CAUSAL RELATIONSHIPS OF FKBP5 IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND RECOVERY OF PTSD.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
17  5395  36 REDUCED EPIGENETIC AGE IN OLDER ADULTS WITH HIGH SENSE OF PURPOSE IN LIFE. PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK FACTORS HAVE BEEN LINKED WITH ACCELERATED EPIGENETIC AGING, BUT LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT WHETHER PSYCHOSOCIAL RESILIENCE FACTORS (EG, SENSE OF PURPOSE IN LIFE) MIGHT REDUCE EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION. IN THIS STUDY, WE TESTED IF OLDER ADULTS WHO EXPERIENCE HIGH LEVELS OF PURPOSE MIGHT SHOW REDUCED EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION. WE EVALUATED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PURPOSE AND EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION AS MEASURED BY 13 DNA METHYLATION (DNAM) "EPIGENETIC CLOCKS" ASSESSED IN 1 572 OLDER ADULTS FROM THE HEALTH AND RETIREMENT STUDY (MEAN AGE 70 YEARS). WE QUANTIFIED THE TOTAL ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PURPOSE AND DNAM AGE ACCELERATION AS WELL AS THE EXTENT TO WHICH THAT TOTAL ASSOCIATION MIGHT BE ATTRIBUTABLE TO DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS, CHRONIC DISEASE, OTHER PSYCHOSOCIAL VARIABLES (EG, POSITIVE AFFECT), AND HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIORS (HEAVY DRINKING, SMOKING, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, AND BODY MASS INDEX [BMI]). PURPOSE IN LIFE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION ACROSS 4 "SECOND-GENERATION" DNAM CLOCKS OPTIMIZED FOR PREDICTING HEALTH AND LONGEVITY (FALSE DISCOVERY RATE [FDR] Q < 0.0001: PHENOAGE, GRIMAGE, ZHANG EPIGENETIC MORTALITY INDEX; FDR Q < 0.05: DUNEDINPOAM). THESE ASSOCIATIONS WERE INDEPENDENT OF DEMOGRAPHIC AND PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS, BUT SUBSTANTIALLY ATTENUATED AFTER ADJUSTING FOR HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIORS (DRINKING, SMOKING, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, AND BMI). PURPOSE SHOWED NO SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATION WITH 9 "FIRST-GENERATION" DNAM EPIGENETIC CLOCKS TRAINED ON CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. OLDER ADULTS WITH GREATER PURPOSE IN LIFE SHOW "YOUNGER" DNAM EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION. THESE RESULTS MAY BE DUE IN PART TO ASSOCIATED DIFFERENCES IN HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIORS. RESULTS SUGGEST NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO REDUCE BIOLOGICAL AGE ACCELERATION BY ENHANCING PURPOSE AND ITS BEHAVIORAL SEQUELAE IN LATE ADULTHOOD.	2023	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
18  5005  28 PERIPHERAL BLOOD DNA METHYLATION-BASED MACHINE LEARNING MODELS FOR PREDICTION OF KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS PROGRESSION: BIOLOGIC SPECIMENS AND DATA FROM THE OSTEOARTHRITIS INITIATIVE AND JOHNSTON COUNTY OSTEOARTHRITIS PROJECT. OBJECTIVE: THE LACK OF ACCURATE BIOMARKERS TO PREDICT KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS (OA) PROGRESSION IS A KEY UNMET NEED IN OA CLINICAL RESEARCH. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DEVELOP BASELINE PERIPHERAL BLOOD EPIGENETIC BIOMARKER MODELS TO PREDICT KNEE OA PROGRESSION. METHODS: GENOME-WIDE BUFFY COAT DNA METHYLATION PATTERNS FROM 554 INDIVIDUALS FROM THE OSTEOARTHRITIS BIOMARKERS CONSORTIUM (OABC) WERE DETERMINED USING ILLUMINA INFINIUM METHYLATIONEPIC 850K ARRAYS. DATA WERE DIVIDED INTO MODEL DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION SETS, AND MACHINE LEARNING MODELS WERE TRAINED TO CLASSIFY FUTURE OA PROGRESSION BY KNEE PAIN, RADIOGRAPHIC IMAGING, KNEE PAIN PLUS RADIOGRAPHIC IMAGING, AND ANY PROGRESSION (PAIN, RADIOGRAPHIC, OR BOTH). PARSIMONIOUS MODELS USING THE TOP 13 CPG SITES MOST FREQUENTLY SELECTED DURING DEVELOPMENT WERE TESTED ON INDEPENDENT SAMPLES FROM PARTICIPANTS IN THE JOHNSTON COUNTY OSTEOARTHRITIS (JOCO OA) PROJECT (N = 128) AND A PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED OSTEOARTHRITIS INITIATIVE (OAI) DATA SET (N = 55). RESULTS: FULL MODELS ACCURATELY CLASSIFIED FUTURE RADIOGRAPHIC-ONLY PROGRESSION (MEAN +/- SEM ACCURACY 87 +/- 0.8%, AREA UNDER THE CURVE [AUC] 0.94 +/- 0.004), PAIN-ONLY PROGRESSION (ACCURACY 89 +/- 0.9%, AUC 0.97 +/- 0.004), PAIN PLUS RADIOGRAPHIC PROGRESSION (ACCURACY 72 +/- 0.7%, AUC 0.79 +/- 0.006), AND ANY PROGRESSION (ACCURACY 78 +/- 0.4%, AUC 0.86 +/- 0.004). PAIN-ONLY AND RADIOGRAPHIC-ONLY PROGRESSORS WERE NOT DISTINGUISHABLE (MEAN +/- SEM ACCURACY 58 +/- 1%, AUC 0.62 +/- 0.001). PARSIMONIOUS MODELS SHOWED SIMILAR PERFORMANCE AND ACCURATELY CLASSIFIED FUTURE RADIOGRAPHIC PROGRESSORS IN THE OABC COHORT AND IN BOTH VALIDATION COHORTS (MEAN +/- SEM ACCURACY 80 +/- 0.3%, AUC 0.88 +/- 0.003 [USING JOCO OA PROJECT DATA], ACCURACY 80 +/- 0.8%, AUC 0.89 +/- 0.002 [USING PREVIOUS OAI DATA]). CONCLUSION: OUR DATA SUGGEST THAT PAIN AND STRUCTURAL PROGRESSION SHARE SIMILAR EARLY SYSTEMIC IMMUNE EPIGENOTYPES. FURTHER STUDIES SHOULD FOCUS ON EVALUATING THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGIC CONSEQUENCES OF DIFFERENTIAL DNA METHYLATION AND PERIPHERAL BLOOD CELL EPIGENOTYPES IN INDIVIDUALS WITH KNEE OA.	2023	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
19  1746  32 EARLY LIFE ADVERSITY, PUBERTAL TIMING, AND EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION IN ADULTHOOD. BACKGROUND: GIVEN ASSOCIATIONS LINKING EARLY LIFE ADVERSITY, PUBERTAL TIMING, AND BIOLOGICAL AGING, WE EXAMINED THE DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS OF EARLY LIFE TRAUMA ON ADULT BIOLOGICAL AGING (VIA AGE OF MENARCHE). METHODS: PARTICIPANTS WERE PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN (N = 183). PATH MODELS EVALUATED WHETHER EARLY LIFE TRAUMA PREDICTED EARLY PUBERTAL TIMING AND THEREBY, ADULT EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION (INDEXED VIA FOUR EPIGENETIC CLOCKS: HORVATH DNAM AGE, HANNUM DNAM AGE, DNAM PHENOAGE, AND DNAM GRIMAGE). SECONDARY ANALYSES EXPLORED THE EFFECTS OF TYPE OF TRAUMA (ABUSE AND NEGLECT) AND ADULT CHRONIC STRESS STATUS (CAREGIVER OF CHILD WITH AUTISM AND NON-CAREGIVER). RESULTS: EARLY LIFE TRAUMA AND EARLIER AGE AT MENARCHE INDEPENDENTLY PREDICTED ACCELERATED AGING BASED ON ONE OF THE FOUR EPIGENETIC CLOCKS, DNAM GRIMAGE, THOUGH EARLY LIFE TRAUMA WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH AGE OF MENARCHE. CHILDHOOD ABUSE, BUT NOT NEGLECT, PREDICTED FASTER EPIGENETIC AGING; RESULTS DID NOT DIFFER BY CHRONIC STRESS STATUS. CONCLUSIONS: EARLY TRAUMA AND EARLY MENARCHE APPEAR TO EXERT INDEPENDENT EFFECTS ON DNAM GRIMAGE, WHICH HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE THE STRONGEST EPIGENETIC PREDICTOR OF MORTALITY RISK. THIS STUDY IDENTIFIES A POTENTIAL CORRELATE OR DETERMINANT OF ACCELERATED EPIGENETIC AGING-MENARCHEAL AGE. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD ADDRESS THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY BY USING RACIALLY DIVERSE SAMPLES.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
20   173  33 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