Socioeconomic Status, Lifestyle, and DNA Methylation Age Among Racially and Ethnically Diverse Adults: NIMHD Social Epigenomics Program

Abstract

IMPORTANCE Variation in DNA methylation at specific loci estimates biological age, which is associated with morbidity, mortality, and social experiences. Aging estimates known as epigenetic clocks, including the Dunedin Pace of Aging Calculated From the Epigenome (DunedinPACE), were trained on data predominately from individuals of European ancestry; however, limited research has explored DunedinPACE in underrepresented populations experiencing health disparities. OBJECTIVE To investigate associations of neighborhood and individual sociobehavioral factors with biological aging in a racially and ethnically diverse population. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cohort study, part of the Multiethnic Cohort study conducted from May 1993 to September 1996 to examine racial and ethnic disparities in chronic diseases, integrated biospecimen and self-reported data collected between April 2004 and November 2005 from healthy Hawaii residents aged 45 to 76 years. These participants self-identified as of Japanese American, Native Hawaiian, or White racial and ethnic background. Data were analyzed from January 2022 to May 2024. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES DNA methylation data were generated from monocytes enriched from cryopreserved lymphocytes and used to derive DunedinPACE scores from November 2017 to June 2021. Neighborhood social economic status (NSES) was estimated from 1990 US Census Bureau data to include factors such as educational level, occupation, and income. Individual-level factors analyzed included educational level, body mass index (BMI), physical activity (PA), and diet quality measured by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI). Linear regression analysis of DunedinPACE scores was used to examine their associations with NSES and sociobehavioral variables. RESULTS A total of 376 participants were included (113 [30.1%] Japanese American, 144 [38.3%] Native Hawaiian, and 119 [31.6%] White; 189 [50.3%] were female). Mean (SE) age was 57.81 (0.38) years. Overall, mean (SE) DunedinPACE scores were significantly higher among females than among males (1.28 [0.01] vs 1.25 [0.01]; P =.005); correlated negatively with NSES (R = −0.09; P =.08), HEI (R = −0.11; P =.03), and educational attainment (R = −0.15; P =.003) and positively with BMI (R = 0.31; P