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Schrempft S, Trofimova O, Künzi M, Ramponi C, Lutti A, Kherif F, Latypova A, Vollenweider P, Marques-Vidal P, Preisig M, Kliegel M, Stringhini S, Draganski B. The Neurobiology of Life Course Socioeconomic Conditions and Associated Cognitive Performance in Middle to Late Adulthood. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1231232024. [PMID: 38499361 PMCID: PMC11044112 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1231-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite major advances, our understanding of the neurobiology of life course socioeconomic conditions is still scarce. This study aimed to provide insight into the pathways linking socioeconomic exposures-household income, last known occupational position, and life course socioeconomic trajectories-with brain microstructure and cognitive performance in middle to late adulthood. We assessed socioeconomic conditions alongside quantitative relaxometry and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging indicators of brain tissue microstructure and cognitive performance in a sample of community-dwelling men and women (N = 751, aged 50-91 years). We adjusted the applied regression analyses and structural equation models for the linear and nonlinear effects of age, sex, education, cardiovascular risk factors, and the presence of depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Individuals from lower-income households showed signs of advanced brain white matter (WM) aging with greater mean diffusivity (MD), lower neurite density, lower myelination, and lower iron content. The association between household income and MD was mediated by neurite density (B = 0.084, p = 0.003) and myelination (B = 0.019, p = 0.009); MD partially mediated the association between household income and cognitive performance (B = 0.017, p < 0.05). Household income moderated the relation between WM microstructure and cognitive performance, such that greater MD, lower myelination, or lower neurite density was only associated with poorer cognitive performance among individuals from lower-income households. Individuals from higher-income households showed preserved cognitive performance even with greater MD, lower myelination, or lower neurite density. These findings provide novel mechanistic insights into the associations between socioeconomic conditions, brain anatomy, and cognitive performance in middle to late adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Schrempft
- Unit of Population Epidemiology, Division of Primary Care, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva CH-1205, Switzerland
| | - Olga Trofimova
- Laboratory for Research in Neuroimaging (LREN), Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Morgane Künzi
- Swiss National Centre of Competences in Research, "LIVES - Overcoming Vulnerability: Life Course Perspectives," University of Lausanne and University of Geneva, Lausanne CH-1015 and Carouge CH-1227, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva CH-1205, Switzerland
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Carouge CH-1227, Switzerland
| | - Cristina Ramponi
- Laboratory for Research in Neuroimaging (LREN), Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland
| | - Antoine Lutti
- Laboratory for Research in Neuroimaging (LREN), Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland
| | - Ferath Kherif
- Laboratory for Research in Neuroimaging (LREN), Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland
| | - Adeliya Latypova
- Laboratory for Research in Neuroimaging (LREN), Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland
| | - Peter Vollenweider
- Department of Medicine, Internal Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland
| | - Pedro Marques-Vidal
- Department of Medicine, Internal Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland
| | - Martin Preisig
- Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1008, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Kliegel
- Swiss National Centre of Competences in Research, "LIVES - Overcoming Vulnerability: Life Course Perspectives," University of Lausanne and University of Geneva, Lausanne CH-1015 and Carouge CH-1227, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva CH-1205, Switzerland
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Carouge CH-1227, Switzerland
| | - Silvia Stringhini
- Unit of Population Epidemiology, Division of Primary Care, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva CH-1205, Switzerland
- Department of Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva CH-1211, Switzerland
- University Centre for General Medicine and Public Health, University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1005, Switzerland
| | - Bogdan Draganski
- Laboratory for Research in Neuroimaging (LREN), Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland
- Neurology Department, Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, D-04303 Leipzig, Germany
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King DE, Lalwani PD, Mercado GP, Dolan EL, Frierson JM, Meyer JN, Murphy SK. The use of race terms in epigenetics research: considerations moving forward. Front Genet 2024; 15:1348855. [PMID: 38356697 PMCID: PMC10864599 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2024.1348855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
The field of environmental epigenetics is uniquely suited to investigate biologic mechanisms that have the potential to link stressors to health disparities. However, it is common practice in basic epigenetic research to treat race as a covariable in large data analyses in a way that can perpetuate harmful biases without providing any biologic insight. In this article, we i) propose that epigenetic researchers open a dialogue about how and why race is employed in study designs and think critically about how this might perpetuate harmful biases; ii) call for interdisciplinary conversation and collaboration between epigeneticists and social scientists to promote the collection of more detailed social metrics, particularly institutional and structural metrics such as levels of discrimination that could improve our understanding of individual health outcomes; iii) encourage the development of standards and practices that promote full transparency about data collection methods, particularly with regard to race; and iv) encourage the field of epigenetics to continue to investigate how social structures contribute to biological health disparities, with a particular focus on the influence that structural racism may have in driving these health disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dillon E. King
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Pooja D. Lalwani
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Gilberto Padilla Mercado
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Emma L. Dolan
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Johnna M. Frierson
- IDEALS Office, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Joel N. Meyer
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Susan K. Murphy
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
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Gilmore N, Loh KP, Liposits G, Arora SP, Vertino P, Janelsins M. Epigenetic and inflammatory markers in older adults with cancer: A Young International Society of Geriatric Oncology narrative review. J Geriatr Oncol 2024; 15:101655. [PMID: 37931584 PMCID: PMC10841884 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgo.2023.101655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023]
Abstract
The number of adults aged ≥ 65 years with cancer is rapidly increasing. Older adults with cancer are susceptible to treatment-related acute and chronic adverse events, resulting in loss of independence, reduction in physical function, and decreased quality of life. Nevertheless, evidence-based interventions to prevent or treat acute and chronic adverse events in older adults with cancer are limited. Several promising blood-based biomarkers related to inflammation and epigenetic modifications are available to identify older adults with cancer who are at increased risk of accelerated aging and physical, functional, and cognitive impairments caused by the cancer and its treatment. Inflammatory changes and epigenetic modifications can be reversible and targeted by lifestyle changes and interventions. Here we discuss ways in which changes in inflammatory and epigenetic pathways influence the aging process and how these pathways can be targeted by interventions aimed at reducing inflammation and aging-associated biological markers. As the number of older adults with cancer entering survivorship continues to increase, it is becoming progressively more important to understand ways in which the benefit from treatment can be enhanced while reducing the effects of accelerated aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikesha Gilmore
- Department of Surgery, Division of Supportive Care in Cancer, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA; James P Wilmot Cancer Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA.
| | - Kah Poh Loh
- James P Wilmot Cancer Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA; Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA.
| | - Gabor Liposits
- Department of Oncology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark; Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; Academy of Geriatric Cancer Research (AgeCare), Odense, Denmark; Department of Oncology, Regional Hospital Gødstrup, Herning, Denmark.
| | - Sukeshi Patel Arora
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Mays Cancer Center, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
| | - Paula Vertino
- James P Wilmot Cancer Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA; Department of Biomedical Genetics, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA.
| | - Michelle Janelsins
- Department of Surgery, Division of Supportive Care in Cancer, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA; James P Wilmot Cancer Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA.
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Clair A, Baker E, Kumari M. Are housing circumstances associated with faster epigenetic ageing? J Epidemiol Community Health 2023; 78:40-46. [PMID: 37816534 PMCID: PMC10715511 DOI: 10.1136/jech-2023-220523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Numerous aspects of housing are associated with health. However, the pathways between housing and health, particularly the psychosocial elements of housing, are less well understood. Epigenetic information alongside social survey data offers an opportunity to explore biological ageing, measured using DNA methylation, as a potential pathway through which housing affects health. METHODS We use data on housing and DNA methylation from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, linked with prior survey responses from the British Household Panel Survey, covering adults in Great Britain. We explore the association between epigenetic ageing and housing circumstances, both contemporary and historical, using hierarchical regression. RESULTS We find that living in a privately rented home is related to faster biological ageing. Importantly, the impact of private renting (coefficient (SE) 0.046 years (0.011) vs owned outright, p<0.001) is greater than the impact of experiencing unemployment (coefficient 0.027 years (0.012) vs employed, p<0.05) or being a former smoker (coefficient 0.021 years (0.005) vs never smoker, p<0.001). When we include historical housing circumstances in the analysis, we find that repeated housing arrears and exposure to pollution/environmental problems are also associated with faster biological ageing. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that challenging housing circumstances negatively affect health through faster biological ageing. However, biological ageing is reversible, highlighting the significant potential for housing policy changes to improve health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Clair
- Australian Centre for Housing Research, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Emma Baker
- Australian Centre for Housing Research, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Meena Kumari
- Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
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Jenkins BD, Rossi E, Pichardo C, Wooten W, Pichardo M, Tang W, Dorsey TH, Ajao A, Hutchison R, Moubadder L, McCullough LE, Bailey-Whyte M, Ambs S. Neighborhood Deprivation and DNA Methylation and Expression of Cancer Genes in Breast Tumors. JAMA Netw Open 2023; 6:e2341651. [PMID: 37930698 PMCID: PMC10628736 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.41651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Importance The biological processes that underlie the association of neighborhood environment with chronic diseases, such as cancer, remain poorly understood. Objective To determine whether differences in breast tissue DNA methylation are associated with neighborhood deprivation among Black and White women with breast cancer. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study collected breast tissue from women undergoing surgery for breast cancer between January 1, 1993, and December 31, 2003. Participants were recruited through the University of Maryland Medical Center, with additional collection sites at Baltimore-area hospitals. Data analysis was performed from March 1 through December 1, 2022. Exposure Year 2000 census tract-level socioeconomic deprivation measured via neighborhood deprivation index (NDI) as a standardized score, with Black and White race being ascertained through self-report. Main Outcome and Measures The primary outcome was tissue DNA methylation using genome-wide measurements. The secondary outcome was tissue gene expression. Results Participants included 185 women with breast cancer (110 Black [59.5%], 75 White [40.5%]). Mean (SD) age at surgery was 56.0 (14.1) years. Neighborhood deprivation was higher for Black women than for White women (Mean [SD] NDI, 2.96 [3.03] for Black women and -0.54 [1.91] for White women; difference, -3.50; 95% CI, -4.22 to -2.79; P < .001). In unstratified analysis, 8 hypomethylated CpG sites were identified as associated with the NDI, including sites in 2 tumor suppressor genes, LRIG1 and WWOX. Moreover, expression of the 2 genes inversely correlated with neighborhood deprivation. In the race-stratified analysis, the negative correlation between the LRIG1 gene body CpG site cg26131019 and the NDI remained significant in Black women. A neighborhood deprivation-associated decrease in gene expression was also observed for LRIG1 and WWOX in tumors from Black women. Conclusions and Relevance In this study, high neighborhood deprivation was associated with differences in tissue DNA methylation and gene expression among Black women. These findings suggest that continued investment in public health interventions and policy changes at the neighborhood level may help to remedy biological alterations that could make minoritized populations more susceptible to chronic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany D. Jenkins
- Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Emily Rossi
- Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Catherine Pichardo
- Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
- Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland
| | - William Wooten
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Margaret Pichardo
- Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
- Department of Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Wei Tang
- Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
- Data Science & Artificial Intelligence, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, Maryland
| | - Tiffany H. Dorsey
- Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Anuoluwapo Ajao
- Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
- School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
| | - Ruby Hutchison
- Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Leah Moubadder
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Lauren E. McCullough
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Maeve Bailey-Whyte
- Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
- School of Medicine, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Stefan Ambs
- Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
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Lyons CE, Razzoli M, Bartolomucci A. The impact of life stress on hallmarks of aging and accelerated senescence: Connections in sickness and in health. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 153:105359. [PMID: 37586578 PMCID: PMC10592082 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
Chronic stress is a risk factor for numerous aging-related diseases and has been shown to shorten lifespan in humans and other social mammals. Yet how life stress causes such a vast range of diseases is still largely unclear. In recent years, the impact of stress on health and aging has been increasingly associated with the dysregulation of the so-called hallmarks of aging. These are basic biological mechanisms that influence intrinsic cellular functions and whose alteration can lead to accelerated aging. Here, we review correlational and experimental literature (primarily focusing on evidence from humans and murine models) on the contribution of life stress - particularly stress derived from adverse social environments - to trigger hallmarks of aging, including cellular senescence, sterile inflammation, telomere shortening, production of reactive oxygen species, DNA damage, and epigenetic changes. We also evaluate the validity of stress-induced senescence and accelerated aging as an etiopathological proposition. Finally, we highlight current gaps of knowledge and future directions for the field, and discuss perspectives for translational geroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carey E Lyons
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Maria Razzoli
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Alessandro Bartolomucci
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
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Barrita A, Strong MN, Ferraris J, Wong-Padoongpatt G. Drugs and racial microaggressions: A mediation analysis of racism, mental health, and coping strategies. JOURNAL OF SUBSTANCE USE AND ADDICTION TREATMENT 2023; 153:209078. [PMID: 37245853 DOI: 10.1016/j.josat.2023.209078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Racial microaggressions are daily slights and denigrations perpetrated toward people of color (PoC). These forms of everyday racism are significant stressors for PoC and can insult, invalidate, and assault racial identities. Past findings on discrimination indicate a strong link between engagement in maladaptive behaviors (e.g., substance use and behavioral addictions) and perceived racism. Although the topic of racism is receiving more traction, a dearth of knowledge still persists on racial microaggressions and how these daily interactions can elicit negative coping behaviors, particularly substance use. The current study examined the relationship among microaggressions, substance use, and psychological distress symptoms. Specifically, we aimed to explore if PoC cope with racial microaggressions by using substances. METHODS We surveyed 557 PoC within the United States using an online platform. Participants answered questions related to their experiences with racial microaggressions, drug and alcohol use as coping strategies for discrimination, and self-reported mental health. Experiences with racial microaggressions was the main predictor variable and the drug and alcohol use as coping strategy was the main outcome variable. The study tested psychological distress as the main mediator for the relationship between racial microaggressions and drug and alcohol use. RESULTS Findings indicated that microaggressions were a significant predictor of psychological distress symptoms, B = 0.272, SE = 0.046, p < .001, and psychological distress was a significant predictor of coping strategies that involved substance and alcohol use, B = 0.102, SE = 0.021, p < .001. Racial microaggressions were no longer a significant predictor of coping strategies that involved substance and alcohol use after controlling for psychological distress, B = 0.027, SE = 0.024, p = .260. In an exploratory approach, our model was further explained by assessing alcohol refusal self-efficacy, which results suggest be a second mediator in the relation between racial microaggressions and substance use. CONCLUSION Overall, results suggest that racial discrimination exposes PoC to higher risks for both poorer mental health and the misuse of substances and alcohol. Practitioners treating PoC with substance abuse disorders might also need to assess the psychological impact of experiences with racial microaggressions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aldo Barrita
- Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, United States of America.
| | - Michelle N Strong
- Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, United States of America
| | - Janelle Ferraris
- Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, United States of America
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Miller-Kleinhenz JM, Moubadder L, Beyer KM, Zhou Y, Gaglioti AH, Collin LJ, Gohar J, Do W, Conneely K, Krishnamurti U, Gogineni K, Gabram-Mendola S, D’Angelo O, Henry K, Torres M, McCullough LE. Redlining-associated methylation in breast tumors: the impact of contemporary structural racism on the tumor epigenome. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1154554. [PMID: 37621676 PMCID: PMC10446968 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1154554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Place-based measures of structural racism have been associated with breast cancer mortality, which may be driven, in part, by epigenetic perturbations. We examined the association between contemporary redlining, a measure of structural racism at the neighborhood level, and DNA methylation in breast tumor tissue. Methods We identified 80 Black and White women diagnosed and treated for a first-primary breast cancer at Emory University Hospitals (2008-2017). Contemporary redlining was derived for census tracts using the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act database. Linear regression models were used to calculate the association between contemporary redlining and methylation in breast tumor tissue. We also examined epigenetic age acceleration for two different metrics, regressing β values for each cytosine-phosphate-guanine dinucleotide (CpG) site on redlining while adjusting for covariates. We employed multivariable Cox-proportional hazards models and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to estimate the association between aberrant methylation and mortality. Results Contemporary redlining was associated with 5 CpG sites after adjustment for multiple comparisons (FDR<0.10). All genes were implicated in breast carcinogenesis, including genes related to inflammation, immune function and stress response (ANGPT1, PRG4 and PRG4). Further exploration of the top 25 CpG sites, identified interaction of 2 sites (MRPS28 and cg11092048) by ER status and 1 site (GDP1) was associated with all-cause mortality. Contemporary redlining was associated with epigenetic age acceleration by the Hannum metric (β=5.35; CI 95%=0.30,10.4) and showed positive but non-significant correlation with the other clock. Conclusion We identified novel associations between neighborhood contemporary redlining and the breast tumor DNA methylome, suggesting that racist policies leading to inequitable social and environmental exposures, may impact the breast tumor epigenome. Additional research on the potential implications for prognosis is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Leah Moubadder
- Department of Epidemiology, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Kirsten M. Beyer
- Division of Epidemiology, Institute for Health & Society, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Yuhong Zhou
- Division of Epidemiology, Institute for Health & Society, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Anne H. Gaglioti
- National Center for Primary Care, Department of Family Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Center for Health Integration, Population Health Research Institute at The MetroHealth System, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Lindsay J. Collin
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - Jazib Gohar
- Department of Epidemiology, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Whitney Do
- Department of Global Health, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Nutrition and Health Sciences Program, Laney Graduate School, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Karen Conneely
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Uma Krishnamurti
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Keerthi Gogineni
- Department of Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | | | - Olivia D’Angelo
- Department of Surgery, Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Kashari Henry
- Department of Epidemiology, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Mylin Torres
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Lauren E. McCullough
- Department of Epidemiology, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA, United States
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9
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Graves CL, Norloff E, Thompson D, Kosyk O, Sang Y, Chen A, Zannas AS, Wallet SM. Chronic early life stress alters the neuroimmune profile and functioning of the developing zebrafish gut. Brain Behav Immun Health 2023; 31:100655. [PMID: 37449287 PMCID: PMC10336164 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2023.100655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2023] [Revised: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic early life stress (ELS) potently impacts the developing central nervous and immune systems and is associated with the onset of gastrointestinal disease in humans. Though the gut-brain axis is appreciated to be a major target of the stress response, the underlying mechanisms linking ELS to gut dysfunction later in life is incompletely understood. Zebrafish are a powerful model validated for stress research and have emerged as an important tool in delineating neuroimmune mechanisms in the developing gut. Here, we developed a novel model of ELS and utilized a comparative transcriptomics approach to assess how chronic ELS modulated expression of neuroimmune genes in the developing gut and brain. Zebrafish exposed to ELS throughout larval development exhibited anxiety-like behavior and altered expression of neuroimmune genes in a time- and tissue-dependent manner. Further, the altered gut neuroimmune profile, which included increased expression of genes associated with neuronal modulation, correlated with a reduction in enteric neuronal density and delayed gut transit. Together, these findings provide insights into the mechanisms linking ELS with gastrointestinal dysfunction and highlight the zebrafish model organism as a valuable tool in uncovering how "the body keeps the score."
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina L. Graves
- Division of Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Carolina Stress Initiative, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA
| | - Erik Norloff
- Division of Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Darius Thompson
- Division of Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Oksana Kosyk
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Yingning Sang
- Division of Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Angela Chen
- Division of Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Anthony S. Zannas
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA
- Carolina Stress Initiative, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA
| | - Shannon M. Wallet
- Division of Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
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Smyth LJ, Cruise SM, Tang J, Young I, McGuinness B, Kee F, McKnight AJ. Differential methylation in CD44 and SEC23A is associated with time preference in older individuals. ECONOMICS AND HUMAN BIOLOGY 2023; 49:101233. [PMID: 36812724 DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2023.101233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Time preference is a measure used to ascertain the level of which individuals prefer smaller, immediate rewards over larger, delayed rewards. We explored how an individual's time preference associates with their epigenetic profile. Time preferences were ascertained by asking participants of the Northern Ireland COhort for the Longitudinal study of Ageing to make a series of choices between two hypothetical income scenarios. From these, eight 'time preference' categories were derived, ranging from "patient" to "impatient" on an ordinal scale. The Infinium High Density Methylation Assay, MethylationEPIC (Illumina) was used to evaluate the status of 862,927 CpGs. Time preference and DNA methylation data were obtained for 1648 individuals. Four analyses were conducted, assessing the methylation patterns at single site resolution between patient and impatient individuals using two adjustment models. In this discovery cohort analysis, two CpG sites were identified with significantly different levels of methylation (p < 9 × 10-8) between the individuals allocated to the patient group and the remaining population following adjustment for covariates; cg08845621 within CD44 and cg18127619 within SEC23A. Neither of these genes have previously been linked to time preference. Epigenetic modifications have not previously been linked to time preference using a population cohort but they may represent important biomarkers of accumulated, complex determinants of this trait. Further analysis is warranted of both the top-ranked results and of DNA methylation as an important link between measurable biomarkers and health behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura J Smyth
- Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, BT12 6BJ Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - Sharon M Cruise
- Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, BT12 6BJ Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - Jianjun Tang
- School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.
| | - Ian Young
- Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, BT12 6BJ Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - Bernadette McGuinness
- Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, BT12 6BJ Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - Frank Kee
- Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, BT12 6BJ Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - Amy Jayne McKnight
- Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, BT12 6BJ Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
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11
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Örkenby L, Skog S, Ekman H, Gozzo A, Kugelberg U, Ramesh R, Magadi S, Zambanini G, Nordin A, Cantú C, Nätt D, Öst A. Stress-sensitive dynamics of miRNAs and Elba1 in Drosophila embryogenesis. Mol Syst Biol 2023; 19:e11148. [PMID: 36938679 PMCID: PMC10167479 DOI: 10.15252/msb.202211148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Revised: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Early-life stress can result in life-long effects that impact adult health and disease risk, but little is known about how such programming is established and maintained. Here, we show that such epigenetic memories can be initiated in the Drosophila embryo before the major wave of zygotic transcription, and higher-order chromatin structures are established. An early short heat shock results in elevated levels of maternal miRNA and reduced levels of a subgroup of zygotic genes in stage 5 embryos. Using a Dicer-1 mutant, we show that the stress-induced decrease in one of these genes, the insulator-binding factor Elba1, is dependent on functional miRNA biogenesis. Reduction in Elba1 correlates with the upregulation of early developmental genes and promotes a sustained weakening of heterochromatin in the adult fly as indicated by an increased expression of the PEV wm4h reporter. We propose that maternal miRNAs, retained in response to an early embryonic heat shock, shape the subsequent de novo heterochromatin establishment that occurs during early development via direct or indirect regulation of some of the earliest expressed genes, including Elba1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lovisa Örkenby
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Signe Skog
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Helen Ekman
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Alessandro Gozzo
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Unn Kugelberg
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Rashmi Ramesh
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Srivathsa Magadi
- Division of Neurobiology (NEURO), Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Gianluca Zambanini
- Division of Molecular Medicine and Virology (MMV), Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Anna Nordin
- Division of Molecular Medicine and Virology (MMV), Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Claudio Cantú
- Division of Molecular Medicine and Virology (MMV), Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Daniel Nätt
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Anita Öst
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
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12
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Schrempft S, Stringhini S. Socioeconomic inequalities in the Pace of Aging. Aging (Albany NY) 2023; 15:1706-1707. [PMID: 36917095 PMCID: PMC10085604 DOI: 10.18632/aging.204595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Schrempft
- Division of Primary Care, Unit of Population Epidemiology, Geneva University Hospitals, Switzerland
| | - Silvia Stringhini
- Division of Primary Care, Unit of Population Epidemiology, Geneva University Hospitals, Switzerland
- Department of Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland
- University Centre for General Medicine and Public Health, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
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13
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Social mobility across the lifecourse and DNA methylation age acceleration in adults in the UK. Sci Rep 2022; 12:22284. [PMID: 36566336 PMCID: PMC9790005 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-26433-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Disadvantaged socio-economic position (SEP) is associated with greater biological age, relative to chronological age, measured by DNA methylation (positive 'age acceleration', AA). Social mobility has been proposed to ameliorate health inequalities. This study aimed to understand the association of social mobility with positive AA. Diagonal reference modelling and ordinary least square regression techniques were applied to explore social mobility and four measures of age acceleration (first-generation: 'Horvath', 'Hannum' and second-generation: 'Phenoage', DunedinPoAm) in n = 3140 participants of the UK Household Longitudinal Study. Disadvantaged SEP in early life is associated with positive AA for three (Hannum, Phenoage and DunedinPoAm) of the four measures examined while the second generation biomarkers are associated with SEP in adulthood (p < 0.01). Social mobility was associated with AA measured with Hannum only such that compared to no mobility, upward mobility was associated with greater age independently of origin and destination SEP. Compared to continuously advantaged groups, downward mobility was associated with positive Phenoage (1.06y [- 0.03, 2.14]) and DunedinPoAm assessed AA (0.96y [0.24, 1.68]). For these two measures, upward mobility was associated with negative AA (Phenoage, - 0.65y [- 1.30, - 0.002]; DunedinPoAm, - 0.96y [- 1.47, - 0.46]) compared to continually disadvantaged groups. While we find some support for three models of lifecourse epidemiology with early life as a sensitive period, SEP across the lifecourse and social mobility for age acceleration measured with DNA methylation, our findings suggest that disadvantaged SEP across the lifecourse is most consistently associated with positive AA.
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14
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Chiapperino L, Paneni F. Why epigenetics is (not) a biosocial science and why that matters. Clin Epigenetics 2022; 14:144. [PMID: 36369214 PMCID: PMC9652908 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-022-01366-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic modifications offer compelling evidence of the environmental etiology of complex diseases. Social and biographical conditions, as well as material exposures, all modulate our biology with consequences for risk predispositions and health conditions. Elucidating these complex biosocial loops is one of the main challenges animating epigenetics. Yet, research on the development of epigenetic biomarkers often pulls in a direction that departs from a view of biological determinants of health embedded in their social and material environment. Taking the example of the epigenetics of cardiovascular diseases, this paper illustrates how common understandings of epigenetic biomarkers strongly lean toward considering them as mere targets for molecular intervention, rather than as correlates of a complex biological and social patterning of disease. This reductionism about biosocial dynamics of disease, we argue, hampers the pursuit of the goals epigenetics has given itself (in cardiology and beyond). If epigenetic mechanisms point to the deep socio-environmental embeddedness of our health, we conclude, future designs and methods of this research may require an improved methodological consideration of a biosocial perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Chiapperino
- grid.9851.50000 0001 2165 4204STS Lab, Institute of Social Sciences, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland ,grid.9851.50000 0001 2165 4204Quartier UNIL-Mouline, Institute of Social Sciences, Bâtiment Géopolis, Bureau 5556, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Francesco Paneni
- grid.412004.30000 0004 0478 9977University Heart Center, Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland ,grid.412004.30000 0004 0478 9977Center for Translational and Experimental Cardiology (CTEC), Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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15
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Paul KC, Kusters C, Furlong M, Zhang K, Yu Y, Folle AD, Del Rosario I, Keener A, Bronstein J, Sinsheimer JS, Horvath S, Ritz B. Immune system disruptions implicated in whole blood epigenome-wide association study of depression among Parkinson's disease patients. Brain Behav Immun Health 2022; 26:100530. [PMID: 36325427 PMCID: PMC9618774 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2022.100530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Although Parkinson's Disease (PD) is typically described in terms of motor symptoms, depression is a common feature. We explored whether depression influences blood-based genome-wide DNA methylation (DNAm) in 692 subjects from a population-based PD case-control study, using both a history of clinically diagnosed depression and current depressive symptoms measured by the geriatric depression scale (GDS). While PD patients in general had more immune activation and more accelerated epigenetic immune system aging than controls, the patients experiencing current depressive symptoms (GDS≥5) showed even higher levels of both markers than patients without current depressive symptoms (GDS<5). For PD patients with a history of clinical depression compared to those without, we found no differences in immune cell composition. However, a history of clinical depression among patients was associated with differentially methylated CpGs. Epigenome-wide association analysis (EWAS) revealed 35 CpGs associated at an FDR≤0.05 (569 CpGs at FDR≤0.10, 1718 CpGs at FDR≤0.15). Gene set enrichment analysis implicated immune system pathways, including immunoregulatory interactions between lymphoid and non-lymphoid cells (p-adj = 0.003) and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction (p-adj = 0.004). Based on functional genomics, 25 (71%) of the FDR≤0.05 CpGs were associated with genetic variation at 45 different methylation quantitative trait loci (meQTL). Twenty-six of the meQTLs were also expression QTLs (eQTLs) associated with the abundance of 53 transcripts in blood and 22 transcripts in brain (substantia nigra, putamen basal ganglia, or frontal cortex). Notably, cg15199181 was strongly related to rs823114 (SNP-CpG p-value = 3.27E-310), a SNP identified in a PD meta-GWAS and related to differential expression of PM20D1, RAB29, SLC41A1, and NUCKS1. The entire set of genes detected through functional genomics was most strongly overrepresented for interferon-gamma-mediated signaling pathway (enrichment ratio = 18.8, FDR = 4.4e-03) and T cell receptor signaling pathway (enrichment ratio = 13.2, FDR = 4.4e-03). Overall, the current study provides evidence of immune system involvement in depression among Parkinson's patients. Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with clinical depression prior to PD onset and depressive symptoms after PD diagnosis. Epigenome-wide analysis revealed CpGs related to current depressive symptoms and a history of clinical depression among PD patients. Patients experiencing current depressive symptoms had the highest epigenetic-based neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio on average. Patients with a history of clinical depression had differentially methylated CpGs in genes enriched for immune system pathways. Many of the depression associated CpGs were linked to differential expression through meQTL/eQTLs, which included GWAS variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly C. Paul
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Corresponding author. 73-320B CHS, CAMPUS-177220, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Cynthia Kusters
- Departments of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Melissa Furlong
- University of Arizona, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Keren Zhang
- Department of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Yu Yu
- Center for Health Policy Research, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Aline Duarte Folle
- Department of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Irish Del Rosario
- Department of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Adrienne Keener
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jeff Bronstein
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Janet S. Sinsheimer
- Departments of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Steve Horvath
- Departments of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Beate Ritz
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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16
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Lemonnier C, Bize P, Boonstra R, Dobson FS, Criscuolo F, Viblanc VA. Effects of the social environment on vertebrate fitness and health in nature: Moving beyond the stress axis. Horm Behav 2022; 145:105232. [PMID: 35853411 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Revised: 06/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Social interactions are a ubiquitous feature of the lives of vertebrate species. These may be cooperative or competitive, and shape the dynamics of social systems, with profound effects on individual behavior, physiology, fitness, and health. On one hand, a wealth of studies on humans, laboratory animal models, and captive species have focused on understanding the relationships between social interactions and individual health within the context of disease and pathology. On the other, ecological studies are attempting an understanding of how social interactions shape individual phenotypes in the wild, and the consequences this entails in terms of adaptation. Whereas numerous studies in wild vertebrates have focused on the relationships between social environments and the stress axis, much remains to be done in understanding how socially-related activation of the stress axis coordinates other key physiological functions related to health. Here, we review the state of our current knowledge on the effects that social interactions may have on other markers of vertebrate fitness and health. Building upon complementary findings from the biomedical and ecological fields, we identify 6 key physiological functions (cellular metabolism, oxidative stress, cellular senescence, immunity, brain function, and the regulation of biological rhythms) which are intimately related to the stress axis, and likely directly affected by social interactions. Our goal is a holistic understanding of how social environments affect vertebrate fitness and health in the wild. Whereas both social interactions and social environments are recognized as important sources of phenotypic variation, their consequences on vertebrate fitness, and the adaptive nature of social-stress-induced phenotypes, remain unclear. Social flexibility, or the ability of an animal to change its social behavior with resulting changes in social systems in response to fluctuating environments, has emerged as a critical underlying factor that may buffer the beneficial and detrimental effects of social environments on vertebrate fitness and health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Lemonnier
- Ecole Normale Supérieur de Lyon, 69342 Lyon, France; Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
| | - Pierre Bize
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK; Swiss Institute of Ornithology, Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Rudy Boonstra
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Canada
| | - F Stephen Dobson
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 67000 Strasbourg, France; Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
| | | | - Vincent A Viblanc
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 67000 Strasbourg, France
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17
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Rodriguez de Lisenko NC, Gray HL, Bohn J. Optimizing Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Psychosocial Risk Factors Affecting Perinatal Black/African-American Women with Substance Use Disorder in the United States. Matern Child Health J 2022; 26:2090-2108. [PMID: 35947278 DOI: 10.1007/s10995-022-03503-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Despite studies having examined and discussed the various multifaceted risk factors affecting perinatal women with substance use disorder (SUD), the limited amount of research on Black/African-American (B/AA) women allows health disparities in this population to widen. Segmenting the needs of the low-income B/AA female population with SUD is crucial when creating multi-layered and multi-faceted innovative upstream evidence-based interventions. This review assesses and examines studies that investigate psychosocial, environmental, and systemic level risk factors related to implicit bias, trauma, toxic stress, food issues, and SUD. METHODS The principal investigator (PI) utilized PubMed, Google Scholar, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global to perform a systematic scoping review of the published literature. Research focused on risks factors affecting low-income perinatal B/AA women. The literature review examined articles published January 2010 through December 2020. Inclusion criteria incorporated risk factors, health disparities, and SUD. Studies selected for this review have been published in English and conducted in the USA. RESULTS Our research identified 509 articles, of which we chose to include 75. The literature highlights health disparities influenced by risks factors of implicit biases, trauma, and toxic stress, which construct physical and emotional barriers to healthy food and food resources in B/AA women with SUD. CONCLUSION The PI found limited or non-existent research on innovative interventions targeting perinatal B/AA women with SUD. This review recommends deconstructing hidden psychosocial, environmental, and systematic risk factors to assist in developing novel comprehensive strategies and wraparound support services.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norma C Rodriguez de Lisenko
- Innovative Health Solutions, P.O. Box 183, Benicia, CA, 94510, USA.
- College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 13201 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA.
| | - Heewon L Gray
- College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 13201 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Joseph Bohn
- College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 13201 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
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18
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Bahr MH, Elgamel AF, Ahmed AG, Abdelkader M. Early Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction in Women Undergoing Elective and Emergent Caesarian Section under General Anaesthesia: A Comparative Study. Anesth Pain Med 2022; 12:e131475. [PMID: 36937083 PMCID: PMC10016137 DOI: 10.5812/aapm-131475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Revised: 10/15/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 02/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) following cesarean section (CS) is a growing and underestimated problem with unknown mechanisms. Studies suggest that general anesthesia (GA) plays a role in the development of early POCD. Objectives This study aimed to assess the incidence of early POCD after elective and emergent CS under GA. Methods We assessed the difference between the elective and emergent groups regarding the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), hemodynamic effects such as mean blood pressure (MBP), and heart rate (HR). Paired t-test was applied for intragroup comparison, and Student's t-test (or Mann-Whitney U test, as appropriate) for intergroup comparison. Results MMSE one hour after the operation was significantly lower than preoperative MMSE in the emergent group, and the MMSE tended to return to normal values faster in the elective than in the emergent group. Moreover, we found a significantly lower MBP and higher HR (at 15, 30, and 45 minutes) in both groups compared to preoperative values. Regarding intergroup comparison, MBP (at 30 minutes) significantly decreased in the elective group compared to the emergent group. Conclusions There was a significantly lower POCD, especially at the first hour postoperatively, in the elective CS than in the emergent CS. Elective CS might have a positive effect on the women's health as a mode of delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud Hussein Bahr
- Faculty of Medicine, Beni Suef University, Beni Suef, Egypt
- Corresponding Author: Faculty of Medicine, Beni Suef University, Beni Suef, Egypt.
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19
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Haas A, Borsook D, Adler G, Freeman R. Stress, hypoglycemia, and the autonomic nervous system. Auton Neurosci 2022; 240:102983. [PMID: 35417827 DOI: 10.1016/j.autneu.2022.102983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Stress can be classified as either psychosocial or physiologic. Physiologic stress refers to stresses due to acute illness, trauma, pain, hypoglycemia, and sleep deprivation-much less is known regarding its health consequences. This review focuses on hypoglycemia as a model to further investigate physiological stress. Experimental mild to moderate hypoglycemia is a paradigmatic physiological stress that evokes autonomic, neuroendocrine, and immune responses. Hypoglycemic stress is an ideal model to examine the interactions and consequences of physiological stress on the autonomic nervous system. Acute hypoglycemia has been demonstrated to increase inflammatory markers, prolong QTc, and impair cardiac-vagal baroreflex sensitivity. Some of these consequences may not reverse completely when euglycemia is restored. For example, there is attenuation of the cardiac-vagal baroreflex, attenuation of the vascular sympathetic baroreflex (muscle sympathetic nerve activity response to transient hypotension), and attenuation of the catecholamine response to lower body negative pressure that is present the next day after hypoglycemia has resolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Haas
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - David Borsook
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Gail Adler
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Roy Freeman
- Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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20
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Demenech LM, Almeida RB, Neiva-Silva L, Dumith SC. Does Money Buy Happiness? Disentangling the Association Between Income, Happiness and Stress. AN ACAD BRAS CIENC 2022; 94:e20210364. [PMID: 35703695 DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765202220210364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Although there is evidence of an inverse relationship between stress and happiness, less is known about the interrelationship between income, happiness and stress. The purpose of this research brief was to investigate whether and how income and stress shape the distribution of happiness. A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the city of Rio Grande, Southern Brazil, with 1,168 individuals aged 18 years or older. The data were collected in 2016 and analyzed in 2019. Wealthiest people tended to be happier and less stressed. Less-stressed people had higher levels of happiness, which remain stable regardless of their income. Most-stressed individuals had lower prevalence of happiness throughout all income subgroups. Happiness levels among both rich and poor respondents decreased as stress levels increased. Nonetheless, this reduction was more pronounced among the poorest respondents. Concluding, stress plays an important role in the relationship between income and happiness. Although there is some evidence that money can exert influence on happiness, it seems that this association is highly dependent of individuals' stress levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauro M Demenech
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Centro de Estudos sobre Risco e Saúde, Campus Carreiros, Av. Itália, Km 8, 96203-900 Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Unidade Saúde, Rua Visconde de Paranaguá, 102, 96200-190 Rio Grande, RS, Brazil
| | - Raimundo B Almeida
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Centro de Estudos sobre Risco e Saúde, Campus Carreiros, Av. Itália, Km 8, 96203-900 Rio Grande, RS, Brazil
| | - Lucas Neiva-Silva
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Centro de Estudos sobre Risco e Saúde, Campus Carreiros, Av. Itália, Km 8, 96203-900 Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Campus Carreiros, Av. Itália, Km 8, 96203-900 Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Pública, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Unidade Saúde, Rua Visconde de Paranaguá, 102, 96200-190 Rio Grande, RS, Brazil
| | - Samuel C Dumith
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Unidade Saúde, Rua Visconde de Paranaguá, 102, 96200-190 Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.,Grupo de Pesquisa em Atividade Física e Saúde Pública, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Unidade Saúde, Rua Visconde de Paranaguá, 102, 96200-190 Rio Grande, RS, Brazil
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21
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Yousefi PD, Suderman M, Langdon R, Whitehurst O, Davey Smith G, Relton CL. DNA methylation-based predictors of health: applications and statistical considerations. Nat Rev Genet 2022; 23:369-383. [PMID: 35304597 DOI: 10.1038/s41576-022-00465-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
DNA methylation data have become a valuable source of information for biomarker development, because, unlike static genetic risk estimates, DNA methylation varies dynamically in relation to diverse exogenous and endogenous factors, including environmental risk factors and complex disease pathology. Reliable methods for genome-wide measurement at scale have led to the proliferation of epigenome-wide association studies and subsequently to the development of DNA methylation-based predictors across a wide range of health-related applications, from the identification of risk factors or exposures, such as age and smoking, to early detection of disease or progression in cancer, cardiovascular and neurological disease. This Review evaluates the progress of existing DNA methylation-based predictors, including the contribution of machine learning techniques, and assesses the uptake of key statistical best practices needed to ensure their reliable performance, such as data-driven feature selection, elimination of data leakage in performance estimates and use of generalizable, adequately powered training samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul D Yousefi
- Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Matthew Suderman
- Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Ryan Langdon
- Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Oliver Whitehurst
- Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - George Davey Smith
- Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Caroline L Relton
- Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
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22
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Martin CL, Ghastine L, Lodge EK, Dhingra R, Ward-Caviness CK. Understanding Health Inequalities Through the Lens of Social Epigenetics. Annu Rev Public Health 2022; 43:235-254. [PMID: 35380065 PMCID: PMC9584166 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-052020-105613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Longstanding racial/ethnic inequalities in morbidity and mortality persist in the United States. Although the determinants of health inequalities are complex, social and structural factors produced by inequitable and racialized systems are recognized as contributing sources. Social epigenetics is an emerging area of research that aims to uncover biological pathways through which social experiences affect health outcomes. A growing body of literature links adverse social exposures to epigenetic mechanisms, namely DNA methylation, offering a plausible pathway through which health inequalities may arise. This review provides an overview of social epigenetics and highlights existing literature linking social exposures—i.e., psychosocial stressors, racism, discrimination, socioeconomic position, and neighborhood social environment—to DNA methylation in humans.We conclude with a discussion of social epigenetics as a mechanistic link to health inequalities and provide suggestions for future social epigenetics research on health inequalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chantel L Martin
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; .,Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Lea Ghastine
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA;
| | - Evans K Lodge
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; .,Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.,School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Radhika Dhingra
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.,Institute of Environmental Health Solutions, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Cavin K Ward-Caviness
- Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, US Environmental Protection Agency, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
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23
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Liu J, Portnoy J, Raine A, Gladieux M, McGarry P, Chen A. Blood lead levels mediate the relationship between social adversity and child externalizing behavior. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 204:112396. [PMID: 34801542 PMCID: PMC10117419 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.112396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIMS The association between social adversity and externalizing behavioral problems in children is well-documented. What is much less researched are biological mechanisms that may mediate such relationships. This study examines the hypothesis that low blood lead mediates the relationship between social adversity and child externalizing behavior problems. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, participants were 131 children aged 11-12 years (mean = 11.90) from Philadelphia, US. A venous fasting blood sample was taken and analyzed for blood lead levels. A social adversity index was calculated based on 10 total indicators derived from a psychosocial interview of the parent and official neighborhood data, while child behavior outcomes (internalizing and externalizing behavior) were assessed using both parent-report and child self-report. RESULTS The mean blood lead level was 2.20 μg/dL. Both relatively higher blood lead levels and higher social adversity scores were associated with higher levels of parent-reported and child self-reported externalizing behaviors. Additionally, blood lead mediated the relationship between social adversity and child-reported externalizing behavior (Indirect effect: B = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.004, 0.09) and partially mediated the relationship between social adversity and parent-reported externalizing behavior (Indirect Effect: B = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.07). CONCLUSION To our knowledge, this study is the first to suggest that blood lead levels play a mediating role in the relationship between externalizing behavior problems and social adversity. Findings have potentially important implications for public health and environmental regulation as well as understanding biological mechanisms that link social inequality with health outcomes, especially in youth from low-income, urban areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianghong Liu
- University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing 418 Curie Blvd., Claire M. Fagin Hall, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
| | - Jill Portnoy
- University of Massachusetts Lowell, School of Criminology and Justice Studies, 113 Wilder Street, Lowell, MA, 01854, USA.
| | - Adrian Raine
- University of Pennsylvania, Departments of Criminology, Psychiatry, and Psychology, 3718 Locust Walk, McNeil Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
| | - Margaret Gladieux
- University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing 418 Curie Blvd., Claire M. Fagin Hall, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
| | - Presley McGarry
- University of Massachusetts Lowell, School of Criminology and Justice Studies, 113 Wilder Street, Lowell, MA, 01854, USA.
| | - Aimin Chen
- University of Pennsylvania, Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, 423 Guardian Drive, Blockley Hall, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
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24
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Méndez-Chacón E. Gender Differences in Perceived Stress and Its Relationship to Telomere Length in Costa Rican Adults. Front Psychol 2022; 13:712660. [PMID: 35282254 PMCID: PMC8915848 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.712660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Stress is associated with disease and reduced leukocyte telomere length (LTL). The objective of this research is to determine if self-perceived stress is associated with telomere length in Costa Rican adults and the gender differences in this association. Findings may help explain how some populations in apparent socioeconomic disadvantage and with limited access to specialized medical services have a remarkably high life expectancy. Methodology Data come from the pre-retirement cohort of the Costa Rican Longevity and Healthy Aging Study (CRELES), a population based survey conducted in the households to 2,327 adults aged 53 to 66 years. The DNA to measure LTL was extracted from blood cells in laboratories of the University of Costa Rica whereas the Blackburn laboratory at the University of California performed the telomere length measurement applying the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR). The relationship between telomere length and perceived stress was measured using least-squares multiple regression. Perceived stress was measured by a set of questions about family, job, finances and, health reasons to be stressed. Models included the control variables: (1) age and sex of the participant, (2) whether he or she resides in the Nicoya area, a “blue zone” known for its high longevity, and (3) the aforementioned sociodemographic, health and lifestyles characteristics. Results Stress perception and LTL are significantly different by sex. Women perceived higher stress levels than men in almost all aspects studied, except work. Women have significantly longer telomeres. Shorter telomeres are significantly associated with caregiving stress in men and with parental health concerns in women. Counter-intuitive telomere lengthenings were observed among women who feel stressed about caring for family members; and among men who feel stressed due to their family relationships as well as concerns about their own health. Discussion Results confirm that people with self-perceived stress due to caregiving or health issues have shorter telomeres. The relationship between stress and telomere length differs between men and women. Gender relations exert a strong modifier effect on the relationship between stress and LTL: gender is related to perceived stress, telomere length, and apparently also to the way stress and LTL are related.
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25
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Natural disaster and immunological aging in a nonhuman primate. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:2121663119. [PMID: 35131902 PMCID: PMC8872742 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2121663119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Survivors of extreme adverse events, including natural disasters, often exhibit chronic inflammation and early onset of age-related diseases. Adversity may therefore accelerate aging via the immune system, which is sensitive to lived experiences. We tested if experiencing a hurricane was associated with immune gene expression in a population of free-ranging macaques. Exposure to Hurricane Maria broadly recapitulated age-associated molecular changes, including disruptions of protein folding genes, greater inflammatory immune cell marker gene expression, and older biological aging by an average of 2 y—approximately 7 to 8 y of the human lifespan. Together, our findings suggest that experiencing an extreme hurricane is associated with alterations in immune cell gene regulation similar to aging, potentially accelerating aspects of the aging process. Weather-related disasters are increasing in frequency and severity, leaving survivors to cope with ensuing mental, financial, and physical hardships. This adversity can exacerbate existing morbidities, trigger new ones, and increase the risk of mortality—features that are also characteristic of advanced age—inviting the hypothesis that extreme weather events may accelerate aging. To test this idea, we examined the impact of Hurricane Maria and its aftermath on immune cell gene expression in large, age-matched, cross-sectional samples from free-ranging rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) living on an isolated island. A cross section of macaques was sampled 1 to 4 y before (n = 435) and 1 y after (n = 108) the hurricane. Hurricane Maria was significantly associated with differential expression of 4% of immune-cell-expressed genes, and these effects were correlated with age-associated alterations in gene expression. We further found that individuals exposed to the hurricane had a gene expression profile that was, on average, 1.96 y older than individuals that were not—roughly equivalent to an increase in 7 to 8 y of a human life. Living through an intense hurricane and its aftermath was associated with expression of key immune genes, dysregulated proteostasis networks, and greater expression of inflammatory immune cell-specific marker genes. Together, our findings illuminate potential mechanisms through which the adversity unleashed by extreme weather and potentially other natural disasters might become biologically embedded, accelerate age-related molecular immune phenotypes, and ultimately contribute to earlier onset of disease and death.
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26
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Song N, Sim JA, Dong Q, Zheng Y, Hou L, Li Z, Hsu CW, Pan H, Mulder H, Easton J, Walker E, Neale G, Wilson CL, Ness KK, Krull KR, Srivastava DK, Yasui Y, Zhang J, Hudson MM, Robison LL, Huang IC, Wang Z. Blood DNA methylation signatures are associated with social determinants of health among survivors of childhood cancer. Epigenetics 2022; 17:1389-1403. [PMID: 35109748 PMCID: PMC9586655 DOI: 10.1080/15592294.2022.2030883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Social epigenomics is an emerging field in which social scientist collaborate with computational biologists, especially epigeneticists, to address the underlying pathway for biological embedding of life experiences. This social epigenomics study included long-term childhood cancer survivors enrolled in the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort. DNA methylation (DNAm) data were generated using the Illumina EPIC BeadChip, and three social determinants of health (SDOH) factors were assessed: self-reported educational attainment, personal income, and an area deprivation index based on census track data. An epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) was performed to evaluate the relation between DNAm at each 5’-cytosine-phosphate-guanine-3’ (CpG) site and each SDOH factor based on multivariable linear regression models stratified by ancestry (European ancestry, n = 1,618; African ancestry, n = 258). EWAS among survivors of European ancestry identified 130 epigenome-wide significant SDOH–CpG associations (P < 9 × 10−8), 25 of which were validated in survivors of African ancestry (P < 0.05). Thirteen CpGs were associated with all three SDOH factors and resided at pleiotropic loci in cigarette smoking–related genes (e.g., CLDND1 and CPOX). After accounting for smoking and body mass index, these associations remained significant with attenuated effect sizes. Seven of 13 CpGs were associated with gene expression level based on 57 subsamples with blood RNA sequencing data available. In conclusion, DNAm signatures, many resembling the effect of tobacco use, were associated with SDOH factors among survivors of childhood cancer, thereby suggesting that biologically distal SDOH factors influence health behaviours or related factors, the epigenome, and subsequently survivors’ health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Song
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.,Department of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea
| | - Jin-Ah Sim
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.,School of Ai Convergence, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Korea
| | - Qian Dong
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Yinan Zheng
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Lifang Hou
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Zhenghong Li
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Chia-Wei Hsu
- Department of Biostatistics, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Haitao Pan
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.,Department of Biostatistics, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Heather Mulder
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.,Department of Computational Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - John Easton
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.,Department of Computational Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Emily Walker
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.,St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Hartwell Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Geoffrey Neale
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.,St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Hartwell Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Carmen L Wilson
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Kirsten K Ness
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Kevin R Krull
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.,Department of Psychology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Deo Kumar Srivastava
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.,Department of Biostatistics, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Yutaka Yasui
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Jinghui Zhang
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.,Department of Computational Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Melissa M Hudson
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.,Department of Oncology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Leslie L Robison
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - I-Chan Huang
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Zhaoming Wang
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.,Department of Computational Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
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27
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Dyakin VV, Dyakina-Fagnano NV, Mcintire LB, Uversky VN. Fundamental Clock of Biological Aging: Convergence of Molecular, Neurodegenerative, Cognitive and Psychiatric Pathways: Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics Meet Psychology. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 23:ijms23010285. [PMID: 35008708 PMCID: PMC8745688 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23010285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Revised: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
In humans, age-associated degrading changes, widely observed in molecular and cellular processes underly the time-dependent decline in spatial navigation, time perception, cognitive and psychological abilities, and memory. Cross-talk of biological, cognitive, and psychological clocks provides an integrative contribution to healthy and advanced aging. At the molecular level, genome, proteome, and lipidome instability are widely recognized as the primary causal factors in aging. We narrow attention to the roles of protein aging linked to prevalent amino acids chirality, enzymatic and spontaneous (non-enzymatic) post-translational modifications (PTMs SP), and non-equilibrium phase transitions. The homochirality of protein synthesis, resulting in the steady-state non-equilibrium condition of protein structure, makes them prone to multiple types of enzymatic and spontaneous PTMs, including racemization and isomerization. Spontaneous racemization leads to the loss of the balanced prevalent chirality. Advanced biological aging related to irreversible PTMs SP has been associated with the nontrivial interplay between somatic (molecular aging) and mental (psychological aging) health conditions. Through stress response systems (SRS), the environmental and psychological stressors contribute to the age-associated “collapse” of protein homochirality. The role of prevalent protein chirality and entropy of protein folding in biological aging is mainly overlooked. In a more generalized context, the time-dependent shift from enzymatic to the non-enzymatic transformation of biochirality might represent an important and yet underappreciated hallmark of aging. We provide the experimental arguments in support of the racemization theory of aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor V. Dyakin
- The Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research (NKI), 140 Old Orangeburg Road, Bldg, 35, Bld. 35. Rom 201-C, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-845-548-96-94; Fax: +1-845-398-5510
| | - Nuka V. Dyakina-Fagnano
- Child, Adolescent and Young Adult Psychiatry, 36 Franklin Turnpike, Waldwick, NJ 07463, USA;
| | - Laura B. Mcintire
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA;
| | - Vladimir N. Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Byrd Alzheimer’s Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MDC07, Tampa, FL 33612, USA;
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Schrempft S, Belsky DW, Draganski B, Kliegel M, Vollenweider P, Marques-Vidal P, Preisig M, Stringhini S. Associations between life course socioeconomic conditions and the Pace of Aging. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2021; 77:2257-2264. [PMID: 34951641 DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glab383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Socioeconomic disadvantage is a well-established predictor of morbidity and mortality, and is thought to accelerate the aging process. This study examined associations between life course socioeconomic conditions and the Pace of Aging, a longitudinal measure of age-related physiological decline. METHODS Data were drawn from a Swiss population-based cohort of individuals originally recruited between 2003 and 2006, and followed up for 11 years (2834 women, 2475 men aged 35 - 75 years (mean 52)). Pace of Aging was measured using three repeated assessments of 12 biomarkers reflecting multiple body systems. Analysis tested associations of socioeconomic conditions with physiological status at baseline and with the Pace of Aging. RESULTS Participants with more life course socioeconomic disadvantage were physiologically older at baseline and experienced faster Pace of Aging. Effect-sizes (β) for associations of childhood socioeconomic disadvantage with baseline physiological status ranged from 0.1-0.2; for adulthood socioeconomic disadvantage, effect-sizes ranged from 0.2-0.3. Effect-sizes were smaller for associations with the Pace of Aging (< 0.05 for childhood disadvantage, 0.05-0.1 for adulthood disadvantage). Those who experienced disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions from childhood to adulthood aged 10% faster over the 11 years of follow-up as compared with those who experienced consistently advantaged socioeconomic conditions. Covariate adjustment for health behaviors attenuated associations, but most remained statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS Socioeconomic inequalities contribute to a faster Pace of Aging, partly through differences in health behaviors. Intervention to slow aging in at risk individuals is needed by midlife, before aetiology of aging-related diseases become established.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Schrempft
- Division of Primary Care, Unit of Population Epidemiology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Daniel W Belsky
- Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.,Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, Columbia University, New York
| | - Bogdan Draganski
- Laboratory for Research in Neuroimaging LREN, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Neurology Department, Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Matthias Kliegel
- Swiss National Centre of Competences in Research, "LIVES - Overcoming Vulnerability: Life Course Perspectives," University of Geneva, Switzerland.,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Peter Vollenweider
- Department of Medicine, Internal Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Pedro Marques-Vidal
- Department of Medicine, Internal Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Martin Preisig
- Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Silvia Stringhini
- Division of Primary Care, Unit of Population Epidemiology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,University Centre for General Medicine and Public Health, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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Mollá-Albaladejo R, Sánchez-Alcañiz JA. Behavior Individuality: A Focus on Drosophila melanogaster. Front Physiol 2021; 12:719038. [PMID: 34916952 PMCID: PMC8670942 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.719038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Among individuals, behavioral differences result from the well-known interplay of nature and nurture. Minute differences in the genetic code can lead to differential gene expression and function, dramatically affecting developmental processes and adult behavior. Environmental factors, epigenetic modifications, and gene expression and function are responsible for generating stochastic behaviors. In the last decade, the advent of high-throughput sequencing has facilitated studying the genetic basis of behavior and individuality. We can now study the genomes of multiple individuals and infer which genetic variations might be responsible for the observed behavior. In addition, the development of high-throughput behavioral paradigms, where multiple isogenic animals can be analyzed in various environmental conditions, has again facilitated the study of the influence of genetic and environmental variations in animal personality. Mainly, Drosophila melanogaster has been the focus of a great effort to understand how inter-individual behavioral differences emerge. The possibility of using large numbers of animals, isogenic populations, and the possibility of modifying neuronal function has made it an ideal model to search for the origins of individuality. In the present review, we will focus on the recent findings that try to shed light on the emergence of individuality with a particular interest in D. melanogaster.
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30
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Dupras C, Bunnik EM. Toward a Framework for Assessing Privacy Risks in Multi-Omic Research and Databases. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS : AJOB 2021; 21:46-64. [PMID: 33433298 DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2020.1863516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
While the accumulation and increased circulation of genomic data have captured much attention over the past decade, privacy risks raised by the diversification and integration of omics have been largely overlooked. In this paper, we propose the outline of a framework for assessing privacy risks in multi-omic research and databases. Following a comparison of privacy risks associated with genomic and epigenomic data, we dissect ten privacy risk-impacting omic data properties that affect either the risk of re-identification of research participants, or the sensitivity of the information potentially conveyed by biological data. We then propose a three-step approach for the assessment of privacy risks in the multi-omic era. Thus, we lay grounds for a data property-based, 'pan-omic' approach that moves away from genetic exceptionalism. We conclude by inviting our peers to refine these theoretical foundations, put them to the test in their respective fields, and translate our approach into practical guidance.
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31
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Smyth LJ, Cruise SM, Tang J, Young I, McGuinness B, Kee F, McKnight AJ. An investigation into DNA methylation patterns associated with risk preference in older individuals. Epigenetics 2021; 17:1159-1172. [PMID: 34696705 PMCID: PMC9542846 DOI: 10.1080/15592294.2021.1992910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Risk preference is a complex trait governed by psycho-social, environmental and genetic determinants. We aimed to examine how an individual’s risk preference associates with their epigenetic profile. Risk preferences were ascertained by asking participants of the Northern Ireland COhort for the Longitudinal study of Ageing to make a series of choices between hypothetical income scenarios. From these, four risk preference categories were derived, ranging from risk-averse to risk-seeking. Illumina’s Infinium High-Density Methylation Assay was used to evaluate the status of 862,927 CpGs. Risk preference and DNA methylation data were obtained for 1,656 individuals. The distribution of single-site DNA methylation levels between risk-averse and risk-seeking individuals was assessed whilst adjusting for age, sex and peripheral white cell counts. In this discovery cohort, 55 CpGs were identified with significantly different levels of methylation (p≤x10−5) between risk-averse and risk-seeking individuals when adjusting for the maximum number of covariates. No CpGs were significantly differentially methylated in any of the risk preference groups at an epigenome-wide association level (p<9x10−8) following covariate adjustment. Protein-coding genes NWD1 and LRP1 were among the genes in which the top-ranked dmCpGs were located for all analyses conducted. Mutations in these genes have previously been linked to neurological conditions. Epigenetic modifications have not previously been linked to risk-aversion using a population cohort, but may represent important biomarkers of accumulated, complex determinants of this trait. Several striking results from this study support further analysis of DNA methylation as an important link between measurable biomarkers and health behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura J Smyth
- Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Sharon M Cruise
- Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Jianjun Tang
- School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
| | - Ian Young
- Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Bernadette McGuinness
- Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Frank Kee
- Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Amy Jayne McKnight
- Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
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Abstract
Purpose of Review To review the effects of early-life, preconception, and prior-generation exposures on reproductive health in women. Recent Findings Women’s early-life factors can affect reproductive health by contributing to health status or exposure level on entering pregnancy. Alternately, they can have permanent effects, regardless of later-life experience. Nutrition, social class, parental smoking, other adverse childhood experiences, environmental pollutants, infectious agents, and racism and discrimination all affect reproductive health, even if experienced in childhood or in utero. Possible transgenerational effects are now being investigated through three- or more-generation studies. These effects occur with mechanisms that may include direct exposure, behavioral, endocrine, inflammatory, and epigenetic pathways. Summary Pregnancy is increasingly understood in a life course perspective, but rigorously testing hypotheses on early-life effects is still difficult. In order to improve the health outcomes of all women, we need to expand our toolkit of methods and theory. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40471-021-00279-0.
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A Scoping Review of Life-Course Psychosocial Stress and Kidney Function. CHILDREN-BASEL 2021; 8:children8090810. [PMID: 34572242 PMCID: PMC8467128 DOI: 10.3390/children8090810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Increased exposure to maternal psychosocial stress during gestation and adverse neonatal environments has been linked to alterations in developmental programming and health consequences in offspring. A programmed low nephron endowment, among other altered pathways of susceptibility, likely increases the vulnerability to develop chronic kidney disease in later life. Our aim in this scoping review was to identify gaps in the literature by focusing on understanding the association between life-course exposure to psychosocial stress, and the risk of reduced kidney function. A systematic search in four databases (PubMed, ProQuest, Wed of Science, and Scopus) was performed, yielding 609 articles. Following abstract and full-text review, we identified 19 articles meeting our inclusion criteria, reporting associations between different psychosocial stressors and an increase in the prevalence of kidney disease or decline in kidney function, mainly in adulthood. There are a lack of studies that specifically evaluated the association between gestational exposure to psychosocial stress and measures of kidney function or disease in early life, despite the overall evidence consistent with the independent effects of prenatal stress on other perinatal and postnatal outcomes. Further research will establish epidemiological studies with clear and more comparable psychosocial stressors to solve this critical research gap.
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Gomez-Verjan JC, Esparza-Aguilar M, Martín-Martín V, Salazar-Perez C, Cadena-Trejo C, Gutierrez-Robledo LM, Martínez-Magaña JJ, Nicolini H, Arroyo P. Years of Schooling Could Reduce Epigenetic Aging: A Study of a Mexican Cohort. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:1408. [PMID: 34573390 PMCID: PMC8469534 DOI: 10.3390/genes12091408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 08/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Adverse conditions in early life, including environmental, biological and social influences, are risk factors for ill-health during aging and the onset of age-related disorders. In this context, the recent field of social epigenetics offers a valuable method for establishing the relationships among them However, current clinical studies on environmental changes and lifespan disorders are limited. In this sense, the Tlaltizapan (Mexico) cohort, who 52 years ago was exposed to infant malnutrition, low income and poor hygiene conditions, represents a vital source for exploring such factors. Therefore, in the present study, 52 years later, we aimed to explore differences in clinical/biochemical/anthropometric and epigenetic (DNA methylation) variables between individuals from such a cohort, in comparison with an urban-raised sample. Interestingly, only cholesterol levels showed significant differences between the cohorts. On the other hand, individuals from the Tlaltizapan cohort with more years of schooling had a lower epigenetic age in the Horvath (p-value = 0.0225) and PhenoAge (p-value = 0.0353) clocks, compared to those with lower-level schooling. Our analysis indicates 12 differentially methylated sites associated with the PI3-Akt signaling pathway and galactose metabolism in individuals with different durations of schooling. In conclusion, our results suggest that longer durations of schooling could promote DNA methylation changes that may reduce epigenetic age; nevertheless, further studies are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Carlos Gomez-Verjan
- Dirección de Investigación, Instituto Nacional de Geriatría, Mexico City 10200, Mexico; (C.C.-T.); (P.A.)
| | - Marcelino Esparza-Aguilar
- Departamento de Investigación en Epidemiología, Instituto Nacional de Pediatría, Mexico City 04530, Mexico; (M.E.-A.); (C.S.-P.)
| | - Verónica Martín-Martín
- Subdirección de Investigación Médica, Instituto Nacional de Pediatría, Mexico City 04530, Mexico;
| | - Cecilia Salazar-Perez
- Departamento de Investigación en Epidemiología, Instituto Nacional de Pediatría, Mexico City 04530, Mexico; (M.E.-A.); (C.S.-P.)
| | - Cinthya Cadena-Trejo
- Dirección de Investigación, Instituto Nacional de Geriatría, Mexico City 10200, Mexico; (C.C.-T.); (P.A.)
| | | | - José Jaime Martínez-Magaña
- Laboratorio de Genómica de Enfermedades Psiquiátricas y Neurodegenerativas, Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica, Mexico City 04809, Mexico; (J.J.M.-M.); (H.N.)
| | - Humberto Nicolini
- Laboratorio de Genómica de Enfermedades Psiquiátricas y Neurodegenerativas, Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica, Mexico City 04809, Mexico; (J.J.M.-M.); (H.N.)
| | - Pedro Arroyo
- Dirección de Investigación, Instituto Nacional de Geriatría, Mexico City 10200, Mexico; (C.C.-T.); (P.A.)
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Nizam W, Yeo HL, Obeng-Gyasi S, Brock MV, Johnston FM. Disparities in Surgical Oncology: Management of Advanced Cancer. Ann Surg Oncol 2021; 28:8056-8073. [PMID: 34268636 DOI: 10.1245/s10434-021-10275-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Significant variations in the patterns of care, incidence, and mortality rates of several common cancers have been noted. These disparities have been attributed to a complex interplay of factors, including genetic, environmental, and healthcare-related components. Within this review, primarily focusing on commonly occurring cancers (breast, lung, colorectal), we initially summarize the burden of these disparities with regard to incidence and screening patterns. We then explore the interaction between several proven genetic, epigenetic, and environmental influences that are known to contribute to these disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wasay Nizam
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Heather L Yeo
- Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Samilia Obeng-Gyasi
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Malcolm V Brock
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Fabian M Johnston
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. .,Division of Gastrointestinal Surgical Oncology, Peritoneal Surface Malignancy Program, Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellowship, Division of Surgical Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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36
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The role of epigenetics in psychological resilience. Lancet Psychiatry 2021; 8:620-629. [PMID: 33915083 PMCID: PMC9561637 DOI: 10.1016/s2215-0366(20)30515-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Revised: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
There is substantial variation in people's responses to adversity, with a considerable proportion of individuals displaying psychological resilience. Epigenetic mechanisms are hypothesised to be one molecular pathway of how adverse and traumatic events can become biologically embedded and contribute to individual differences in resilience. However, not much is known regarding the role of epigenetics in the development of psychological resilience. In this Review, we propose a new conceptual model for the different functions of epigenetic mechanisms in psychological resilience. The model considers the initial establishment of the epigenome, epigenetic modification due to adverse and protective environments, the role of protective factors in counteracting adverse influences, and genetic moderation of environmentally induced epigenetic modifications. After reviewing empirical evidence for the various components of the model, we identify research that should be prioritised and discuss practical implications of the proposed model for epigenetic research on resilience.
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37
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Raffington L, Belsky DW, Kothari M, Malanchini M, Tucker-Drob EM, Harden KP. Socioeconomic Disadvantage and the Pace of Biological Aging in Children. Pediatrics 2021; 147:e2020024406. [PMID: 34001641 PMCID: PMC8785753 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2020-024406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Children who grow up in socioeconomic disadvantage face increased burden of disease and disability throughout their lives. One hypothesized mechanism for this increased burden is that early-life disadvantage accelerates biological processes of aging, increasing vulnerability to subsequent disease. To evaluate this hypothesis and the potential impact of preventive interventions, measures are needed that can quantify early acceleration of biological aging in childhood. METHODS Saliva DNA methylation and socioeconomic circumstances were measured in N = 600 children and adolescents aged 8 to 18 years (48% female) participating in the Texas Twin Project. We measured pace of biological aging using the DunedinPoAm DNA methylation algorithm, developed to quantify the pace-of-aging-related decline in system integrity. We tested if children in more disadvantaged families and neighborhoods exhibited a faster pace of aging as compared with children in more affluent contexts. RESULTS Children living in more disadvantaged families and neighborhoods exhibited a faster DunedinPoAm-measured pace of aging (r = 0.18; P = .001 for both). Latinx-identifying children exhibited a faster DunedinPoAm-measured pace of aging compared with both White- and Latinx White-identifying children, consistent with higher levels of disadvantage in this group. Children with more advanced pubertal development, higher BMI, and more tobacco exposure exhibited faster a faster DunedinPoAm-measured pace of aging. However, DunedinPoAm-measured pace of aging associations with socioeconomic disadvantage were robust to control for these factors. CONCLUSIONS Children growing up under conditions of socioeconomic disadvantage exhibit a faster pace of biological aging. DNA methylation pace of aging might be useful as a surrogate end point in evaluation of programs and policies to address the childhood social determinants of lifelong health disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurel Raffington
- Department of Psychology and
- Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
| | - Daniel W Belsky
- Department of Epidemiology and
- The Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York; and
| | - Meeraj Kothari
- The Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York; and
| | - Margherita Malanchini
- Department of Psychology and
- Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Elliot M Tucker-Drob
- Department of Psychology and
- Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
- Contributed equally as co-lead authors
| | - K Paige Harden
- Department of Psychology and
- Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
- Contributed equally as co-lead authors
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38
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Hicks B, Veronesi G, Ferrario MM, Forrest H, Whitehead M, Diderichsen F, Tunstall-Pedoe H, Kuulasmaa K, Sans S, Salomaa V, Thorand B, Peters A, Soderberg S, Cesana G, Bobak M, Iacoviello L, Palmieri L, Zeller T, Blankenberg S, Kee F. Roles of allostatic load, lifestyle and clinical risk factors in mediating the association between education and coronary heart disease risk in Europe. J Epidemiol Community Health 2021; 75:1147-1154. [PMID: 34049926 PMCID: PMC8588289 DOI: 10.1136/jech-2020-215394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown that differential exposure to lifestyle factors may mediate the association between education and coronary heart diseases (CHD). However, few studies have examined the potential roles of allostatic load (AL) or differential susceptibility. METHODS 25 310 men and 26 018 women aged 35-74 and CHD free at baseline were identified from 21 European cohorts and followed for a median of 10 years, to investigate the mediating role of AL, as well as of smoking, alcohol use and body mass index (BMI), on educational differences in CHD incidence, applying marginal structural models and three-way decomposition. RESULTS AL is a mediator of the association between educational status and CHD incidence, with the highest proportion mediated observed among women and largely attributable to differential exposure, (28% (95% CI 19% to 44%)), with 8% (95% CI 0% to 16%) attributable to differential susceptibility. The mediating effects of smoking, alcohol and BMI, compared with AL, were relatively small for both men and women. CONCLUSION Overall, the educational inequalities in CHD incidence were partially mediated through differential exposure to AL. By contrast, the mediation of the educational gradient in CHD by investigated lifestyle risk factors was limited. As differential susceptibility in men was found to have a predominant role in the accumulation of AL in low educational classes, the investigation of AL-related risk factors is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blánaid Hicks
- Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Giovanni Veronesi
- Research Center in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
| | - Marco M Ferrario
- Research Center in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
| | - Hannah Forrest
- Research Center in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
| | - Margaret Whitehead
- Department of Public Health and Policy, Institute of Population Health and Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Finn Diderichsen
- Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Hugh Tunstall-Pedoe
- Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Kari Kuulasmaa
- Department of Public Health and Welfare, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Susana Sans
- Catalan Department of Health, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Veikko Salomaa
- Department of Public Health and Welfare, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Barbara Thorand
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Annette Peters
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.,German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany
| | - Stefan Soderberg
- Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umea Universitet, Umea, Sweden
| | - Giancarlo Cesana
- Research Centre on Public Health, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milan-Bicocca, Monza, Italy
| | - Martin Bobak
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Licia Iacoviello
- Research Center in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
| | - Luigi Palmieri
- Department of Cardiovascular, Endocrine-Metabolic Diseases, and Ageing, National Institute of Health, Roma, Lazio, Italy
| | - Tanja Zeller
- Department of Cardiology, University Heart and Vascular Centre, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Blankenberg
- Department of Cardiology, University Heart and Vascular Centre, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Frank Kee
- Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
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Amaro H, Sanchez M, Bautista T, Cox R. Social vulnerabilities for substance use: Stressors, socially toxic environments, and discrimination and racism. Neuropharmacology 2021; 188:108518. [PMID: 33716076 PMCID: PMC8126433 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2020] [Revised: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Applying a social determinants of health framework, this review brings attention to evidence from social sciences and neuroscience on the role of selected social factors in individual and population-level vulnerability to substance use and substance use disorders (SUDs). The understanding that social vulnerability to substance use and SUDs is multifaceted and occurs across different levels of influence (individual, interpersonal, community, and societal) is underscored. We propose that socially based stressors play a critical role in creating vulnerability to substance use and SUDs, and as such, deserve greater empirical attention to further understand how they "get under the skin." Current knowledge from social sciences and neuroscience on the relationships among vulnerability to substance use resulting from stressors, exposure to socially toxic childhood environments, and racism and discrimination are summarized and discussed, as are implications for future research, practice, and policy. Specifically, we propose using a top-down approach to the examination of known, yet often unexplored, relationships between vulnerability to substance use and SUDs, related inequities, and potential differential effects across demographic groups. Finally, research gaps and promising areas of research, practice, and policy focused on ameliorating social vulnerabilities associated with substance use and SUDs across the lifespan are presented. This article is part of the special issue on 'Vulnerabilities to Substance Abuse'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hortensia Amaro
- Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, United States.
| | - Mariana Sanchez
- Department of Health Promotion & Disease Prevention, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, United States.
| | - Tara Bautista
- Yale Stress Center, School of Medicine, Yale University, United States.
| | - Robynn Cox
- Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, And Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging, University of Southern California, United States.
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40
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Mulligan CJ. Systemic racism can get under our skin and into our genes. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021; 175:399-405. [PMID: 33905118 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Revised: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Special Issue - Race reconciled II: Interpreting and communicating biological variation and race in 2021 Many sociocultural factors, like poverty and trauma, or homelessness versus a safe neighborhood, can get "under our skin" and affect our lives. These factors may also get "into our genes" through epigenetic changes that influence how genes are expressed. Changes in gene expression can further influence how we respond to sociocultural factors and how those factors impact our physical and mental health, creating a feedback loop between our sociocultural environment and our genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connie J Mulligan
- Department of Anthropology, Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
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Farmer N, Cotter EW. Well-Being and Cooking Behavior: Using the Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (PERMA) Model as a Theoretical Framework. Front Psychol 2021; 12:560578. [PMID: 33912092 PMCID: PMC8071848 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.560578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The prevalence of psychosocial distress is increasing in the United States. At the same time, the American default lifestyle has steadily displaced household food production with industrial food production, despite increased cultural interest in cooking. An important focus of cooking research to date has been on cooking's association with nutrition and dietary quality. Less focus has been placed on how cooking might foster the qualities that allow for mitigation of psychosocial distress and promote well-being. Rooted in its evolutionary role in the human experience, cooking requires skills and knowledge that have the capacity to encourage aspects of well-being as described by Seligman as flourishing. Evidence for a beneficial role of cooking in psychosocial health exists, but the exploration is limited, potentially due to lack of a theoretical context to explain these benefits. From this perspective, we review the current literature showing the application of Seligman's prominent well-being model, Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (PERMA), to cooking, defined as the activity related to the preparation of food or a meal. We propose that the PERMA model as applied to cooking may function as a theoretical framework to explore psychosocial outcomes associated with cooking. Broader application of this approach may also help to further the application of positive psychology in the developing literature around psychosocial health and nutrition-related chronic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Farmer
- National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Elizabeth W Cotter
- Department of Health Studies, American University, Washington, DC, United States
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Roman YM, Lor K, Xiong T, Culhane-Pera K, Straka RJ. Gout prevalence in the Hmong: a prime example of health disparity and the role of community-based genetic research. Per Med 2021; 18:311-327. [PMID: 33787318 DOI: 10.2217/pme-2020-0107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Individuals of distinct Asian backgrounds are commonly aggregated as Asian, which could mask the differences in the etiology and prevalence of health conditions in the different Asian subgroups. The Hmong are a growing Asian subgroup in the United States with a higher prevalence of gout and gout-related comorbidities than non-Hmong. Genetic explorations in the Hmong suggest a higher prevalence of genetic polymorphisms associated with an increased risk of hyperuricemia and gout. History of immigration, acculturation, lifestyle factors, including dietary and social behavioral patterns, and the use of traditional medicines in the Hmong community may also increase the risk of developing gout and lead to poor gout management outcomes. Engaging minorities such as the Hmong population in biomedical research is a needed step to reduce the burden of health disparities within their respective communities, increase diversity in genomic studies, and accelerate the adoption of precision medicine to clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youssef M Roman
- Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Pharmacy, Richmond, Virginia 23298, USA
| | - Kajua Lor
- Associate Professor & Chair, Medical College of Wisconsin, School of Pharmacy, 8701 W Watertown Plank Rd, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA
| | - Txia Xiong
- Clinical Pharmacist, West Side Community Health Services, St. Paul, MN 55106, USA
| | | | - Robert J Straka
- Professor & Department Head, University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
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Shantz E, Elliott SJ. From social determinants to social epigenetics: Health geographies of chronic disease. Health Place 2021; 69:102561. [PMID: 33761408 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2021.102561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2020] [Revised: 01/25/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Social epigenetics explores relationships between social factors and health inequities embodied at the molecular level. Through modulating gene expression, epigenetic changes resulting from human-environment interactions may play a role in shaping health trajectories. This paper applies a health geography lens to explore the potential and support for conducting social epigenetic studies of chronic diseases with complex and dynamic etiologies. In so doing, we argue that social epigenetics presents a novel space for investigations of health and disease that is transdisciplinary and builds upon new understandings of bodies and place-based experiences. Given gender disparities in chronic diseases, we adopt a feminist perspective that cogitates the transactive relationships between gender and health/ill-health as mediated by biosocial processes at a variety of scales. Looking forward to the practical undertaking of social epigenetic studies, we assess existing theoretical and methodological support as well as insights to be gained. Reflecting upon the central tenets of health geography, we propose a unique positionality for health geographers to drive this field forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Shantz
- Department of Geography & Environmental Management, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada.
| | - Susan J Elliott
- Department of Geography & Environmental Management, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada
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Lock M, Argentieri MA, Shields AE. The contribution of ethnography to epigenomics research: toward a new bio-ethnography for addressing health disparities. Epigenomics 2021; 13:1771-1786. [PMID: 33653089 DOI: 10.2217/epi-2020-0009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
This article describes ethnography as a research method and outlines how it excels in capturing the salient experiences of individuals among diverse communities in their own words. We argue that the integration of ethnographic findings into epigenomics will significantly improve disparities-focused study designs within environmental epigenomics by identifying and contextualizing the most salient dimensions of the 'environment' that are affecting local communities. Reciprocally, epigenetic findings can enhance anthropological understanding of human biological variation and embodiment. We introduce the term bio-ethnography to refer to research designs that integrate both of these methodologies into a single research project. Emphasis is given in this article, through the use of case studies, to socially disadvantaged communities that are often underrepresented in scientific literature. The paper concludes with preliminary recommendations for how ethnographic methods can be integrated into epigenomics research designs in order to elucidate the manner in which disadvantage translates into disparities in the burden of illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret Lock
- Department of Social Studies of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal H3A 1X1, Canada
| | - M Austin Argentieri
- School of Anthropology & Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6PE, UK.,Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities, Mongan Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Alexandra E Shields
- Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities, Mongan Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
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45
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Evans L, Engelman M, Mikulas A, Malecki K. How are social determinants of health integrated into epigenetic research? A systematic review. Soc Sci Med 2021; 273:113738. [PMID: 33610974 PMCID: PMC8034414 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 12/26/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We systematically review the literature on social epigenetics, examining how empirical research to date has conceptualized and operationalized social determinants of health (SDOH). METHODS Using comprehensive search procedures, we identified studies that consider the impact of SDOH on DNA methylation (DNAm), the most common measure of epigenetic change in research on human adult populations. We analyzed the studies to determine: 1) which populations and environments have been investigated in the literature; 2) how SDOH are defined and operationalized; 3) which SDOH have been linked to DNAm; and 4) what lessons from the SDOH literature can be better integrated into future studies exploring the social determinants of health and epigenetic outcomes. RESULTS We identified 67 studies, with 39 to 8397 participants. The SDOH most commonly considered were early life socioeconomic exposures and early life trauma or mental health. Our review highlights four broad challenges: a) high dependence on convenience sampling, b) limited racial/ethnic, and geographic diversity in sampling frames, c) overreliance on individual sociodemographic characteristics as proxies for broader stratification processes, and d) a focus on downstream social determinants of health and individualized experiences with social stressors. CONCLUSIONS Future social epigenetics research should prioritize larger, more diverse and representative population-based samples and employ the SDOH framework to better inform the conceptualization of research questions and interpretation of findings. In particular, the simplified depiction of race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status as individual-level characteristics should be updated with an explicit acknowledgement that these characteristics are more accurately interpreted as cues used by society to differentiate subpopulations. Social epigenetics research can then more clearly elucidate the biological consequences of these social exposures for patterns of gene expression, subsequent disease etiology, and health inequities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linnea Evans
- Center for Health Equity Research, Northern Arizona University, USA.
| | - Michal Engelman
- Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
| | - Alex Mikulas
- Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
| | - Kristen Malecki
- Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
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46
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Triolo F, Harber-Aschan L, Belvederi Murri M, Calderón-Larrañaga A, Vetrano DL, Sjöberg L, Marengoni A, Dekhtyar S. The complex interplay between depression and multimorbidity in late life: risks and pathways. Mech Ageing Dev 2020; 192:111383. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mad.2020.111383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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Perić I, Costina V, Gass P, Findeisen P, Filipović D. Hippocampal synaptoproteomic changes of susceptibility and resilience of male rats to chronic social isolation. Brain Res Bull 2020; 166:128-141. [PMID: 33238171 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2020.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Revised: 11/07/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The susceptibility of an individual to chronic social isolation (CSIS) stress may cause major depression (MD) whereby some individuals are resistant to the stress. Recent studies relate MD with altered expression of synaptic proteins in specific brain regions. To explore the neurobiological underpinnings and identify candidate biomarkers of susceptibility or resilience to CSIS, a comparative proteomic approach was used to map hippocampal synaptic protein alterations of rats exposed to 6 weeks of CSIS, an animal model of depression. This model generates two stress-response phenotypes: CSIS-sensitive (depressive-like behaviour) and CSIS-resilience assessed by means of sucrose preference and forced swim tests. Our aim was to characterize the synaptoproteome changes representative of potential long-term changes in protein expression underlying susceptibility or resilience to stress. Proteomic data showed increased expression of glycolytic enzymes, the energy-related mitochondrial proteins, actin cytoskeleton, signalling transduction and synaptic transmission proteins in CSIS-sensitive rats. Protein levels of glutamate-related enzymes such as glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamine synthetase were also increased. CSIS-resilient rats showed similar proteome changes, however with a weaker increase compared to CSIS-sensitive rats. The main difference was observed in the level of protein expression of vesicle-mediated transport proteins. Nonetheless, only few proteins were uniquely up-regulated in the CSIS-resilient rats, whereby Cytochrome b-c1 complex subunit 2, mitochondrial (Uqcrc2) and Voltage-dependent anion-selective channel protein 1 (Vdac1) were uniquely down-regulated. Identified altered activated pathways and potential protein biomarkers may help us better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying synaptic neurotransmission in MD or resilience, crucial for development of new therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Perić
- Molecular Biology and Endocrinology MBE-090, "VINČA", Institute of Nuclear Sciences - National Institute of thе Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Victor Costina
- Institute for Clinical Chemistry, Medical Faculty Mannheim of the University of Heidelberg, University Hospital Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Peter Gass
- Institute of Psychopharmacology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Peter Findeisen
- Institute for Clinical Chemistry, Medical Faculty Mannheim of the University of Heidelberg, University Hospital Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Dragana Filipović
- Molecular Biology and Endocrinology MBE-090, "VINČA", Institute of Nuclear Sciences - National Institute of thе Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
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48
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Zhai QY, Wang JJ, Tian Y, Liu X, Song Z. Review of psychological stress on oocyte and early embryonic development in female mice. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 2020; 18:101. [PMID: 33050936 PMCID: PMC7552561 DOI: 10.1186/s12958-020-00657-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychological stress can cause adverse health effects in animals and humans. Accumulating evidence suggests that psychological stress in female mice is associated with ovarian developmental abnormalities accompanied by follicle and oocyte defects. Oocyte and early embryonic development are impaired in mice facing psychological stress, likely resulting from hormone signalling disorders, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and alterations in epigenetic modifications, which are primarily mediated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axes. The present evidence suggests that psychological stress is increasingly becoming the most common causative factor for female subfertility. Here, we review recent progress on the impact of psychological stress on female reproduction, particularly for oocyte and early embryonic development in female mice. This review highlights the connection between psychological stress and reproductive health and provides novel insight on human subfertility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiu-Yue Zhai
- grid.410645.20000 0001 0455 0905School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071 China
- grid.410645.20000 0001 0455 0905Qingdao Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071 China
| | - Jun-Jie Wang
- grid.412608.90000 0000 9526 6338College of Life Sciences, Institute of Reproductive Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109 China
| | - Yu Tian
- grid.412608.90000 0000 9526 6338College of Life Sciences, Institute of Reproductive Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109 China
| | - Xiaofang Liu
- grid.43308.3c0000 0000 9413 3760Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, 266071 China
| | - Zhenhua Song
- grid.410645.20000 0001 0455 0905School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071 China
- grid.410645.20000 0001 0455 0905Qingdao Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071 China
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49
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Mancilla VJ, Peeri NC, Silzer T, Basha R, Felini M, Jones HP, Phillips N, Tao MH, Thyagarajan S, Vishwanatha JK. Understanding the Interplay Between Health Disparities and Epigenomics. Front Genet 2020; 11:903. [PMID: 32973872 PMCID: PMC7468461 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.00903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social epigenomics has emerged as an integrative field of research focused on identification of socio-environmental factors, their influence on human biology through epigenomic modifications, and how they contribute to current health disparities. Several health disparities studies have been published using genetic-based approaches; however, increasing accessibility and affordability of molecular technologies have allowed for an in-depth investigation of the influence of external factors on epigenetic modifications (e.g., DNA methylation, micro-RNA expression). Currently, research is focused on epigenetic changes in response to environment, as well as targeted epigenetic therapies and environmental/social strategies for potentially minimizing certain health disparities. Here, we will review recent findings in this field pertaining to conditions and diseases over life span encompassing prenatal to adult stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viviana J. Mancilla
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
| | - Noah C. Peeri
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
| | - Talisa Silzer
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
| | - Riyaz Basha
- Department of Pediatrics, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
- Texas Center for Health Disparities, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
| | - Martha Felini
- Department of Pediatrics, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
- Texas Center for Health Disparities, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
| | - Harlan P. Jones
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
- Texas Center for Health Disparities, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
| | - Nicole Phillips
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
- Texas Center for Health Disparities, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
| | - Meng-Hua Tao
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
- Texas Center for Health Disparities, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
| | - Srikantha Thyagarajan
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
- Texas Center for Health Disparities, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
| | - Jamboor K. Vishwanatha
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
- Texas Center for Health Disparities, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
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50
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Forrester SN, Taylor JL, Whitfield KE, Thorpe RJ. Advances in Understanding the Causes and Consequences of Health Disparities in Aging Minorities. CURR EPIDEMIOL REP 2020; 7:59-67. [PMID: 33868898 PMCID: PMC8045783 DOI: 10.1007/s40471-020-00234-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW The purpose was to discuss appropriate methods for advancing our understanding of health disparities or minority aging including life-course perspectives, biological measures, pain measurement, and generational approaches. RECENT FINDINGS Life course perspectives provide an orientation for studying older minorities that concomitantly captures exposures and stressors that may lead to earlier onset of disease and premature mortality. The use of biological markers to study health disparities in older minorities is necessary in order to identify pathways between psychosocial factors and health outcomes. Work focusing on pain disparities should include explorations of relationships between psychosocial factors, and subjective and objective measures of pain. Studying families can provide insight into genetic associations and coping styles in older minorities. SUMMARY Methodological approaches that take life course, biology, and social factors into account may help identify causal pathways between social determinants of health and health outcomes among older minorities. Once these causal pathways have been identified, more strategies and interventions that strive toward health equity across older adults of all race/ethnic groups can be developed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah N Forrester
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School
| | | | | | - Roland J Thorpe
- Program for Research on Men's Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
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