Self-rated health, epigenetic ageing, and long-term mortality in older Australians

Abstract

Self-rated health (SRH) is a subjective indicator of overall health based on a single questionnaire item. Previous evidence found that it is a strong predictor of mortality, although the underlying mechanism is poorly understood. Epigenetic age is an objective, emerging biomarker of health, estimated using DNA methylation data at hundreds of sites across the genome. This study aimed to assess the overlap and interaction between SRH and epigenetic ageing in predicting mortality risk. We used DNA methylation data from 1059 participants in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study (mean age: 69 years) to calculate three age-adjusted measures of epigenetic ageing: GrimAge, PhenoAge, and DunedinPACE. SRH was assessed using a five-category questionnaire item (“excellent, very good, good, fair, poor”). Cox models were used to assess the associations of SRH, epigenetic ageing, and their interaction, with all-cause mortality over up to 17 years of follow-up (Ndeaths = 345). The association of SRH with mortality per category increase was HR = 1.29; 95%CI: 1.14–1.46. The association was slightly attenuated after adjusting for all three epigenetic ageing measures (HR = 1.25, 95%CI: 1.10–1.41). A strong gradient was observed in the association of GrimAge (Pinteraction = 0.006) and DunedinPACE (Pinteraction = 0.002) with mortality across worsening SRH strata. For example, the association between DunedinPACE and mortality in participants with “excellent” SRH was HR = 1.02, 95%CI: 0.73–1.43 and for “fair/poor” HR = 1.72, 95%CI: 1.35–2.20. SRH and epigenetic ageing were synergistic risk factors of mortality in our study. These findings suggest that consideration of subjective and objective factors may improve general health assessment, which has implications for the ongoing development of molecular markers of ageing.