Exposure to Violence Accelerates Epigenetic Aging in Children

Epigenetic processes, including DNA methylation, change reliably with age across the lifespan, such that DNA methylation can be used as an “epigenetic clock”. This epigenetic clock can be used to predict age and age acceleration, which occurs when methylation-based prediction of age exceeds chronolo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2017-08, Vol.7 (1), p.8962-7, Article 8962
Main Authors: Jovanovic, Tanja, Vance, L. Alexander, Cross, Dorthie, Knight, Anna K., Kilaru, Varun, Michopoulos, Vasiliki, Klengel, Torsten, Smith, Alicia K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
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Adolescent
Age
Aggression
Aging
Aging - pathology
Child
Children
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
DNA - chemistry
DNA - isolation & purification
DNA Methylation
Epigenesis, Genetic
Epigenetics
Exposure to Violence
Female
Heart Rate
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Life span
Longitudinal Studies
Male
multidisciplinary
Saliva
Saliva - chemistry
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Violence
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Summary:Epigenetic processes, including DNA methylation, change reliably with age across the lifespan, such that DNA methylation can be used as an “epigenetic clock”. This epigenetic clock can be used to predict age and age acceleration, which occurs when methylation-based prediction of age exceeds chronological age and has been associated with increased mortality. In the current study we examined epigenetic age acceleration using saliva samples collected from children between ages 6–13 (N = 101). Children’s exposure to neighborhood violence and heart rate during a stressful task were assessed. Age acceleration was associated with children’s direct experience of violence (p = 0.004) and with decreased heart rate (p = 0.002). Children who were predicted to be older than their chronological age had twice as much violence exposure as other children and their heart rate was similar to that of adults. The results remained significant after controlling for demographic variables, such as sex, income and education. This is the first study to show the effects of direct violence exposure on epigenetic aging in children using salivary DNA. Although longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether accelerated epigenetic aging leads to adverse health outcomes later in life, these data point to DNA methylation during childhood as a putative biological mechanism.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-017-09235-9