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Philibert R, Lei MK, Ong ML, Beach SRH. Objective Assessments of Smoking and Drinking Outperform Clinical Phenotypes in Predicting Variance in Epigenetic Aging. Genes (Basel) 2024; 15:869. [PMID: 39062648 PMCID: PMC11276345 DOI: 10.3390/genes15070869] [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: 06/11/2024] [Revised: 06/27/2024] [Accepted: 06/27/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
The reliability of the associations of the acceleration of epigenetic aging (EA) indices with clinical phenotypes other than for smoking and drinking is poorly understood. Furthermore, the majority of clinical phenotyping studies have been conducted using data from subjects of European ancestry. In order to address these limitations, we conducted clinical, physiologic, and epigenetic assessments of a cohort of 278 middle-aged African American adults and analyzed the associations with the recently described principal-components-trained version of GrimAge (i.e., PC-GrimAge) and with the DunedinPACE (PACE) index using regression analyses. We found that 74% of PC-GrimAge accelerated aging could be predicted by a simple baseline model consisting of age, sex, and methylation-sensitive digital PCR (MSdPCR) assessments of smoking and drinking. The addition of other serological, demographic, and medical history variables or PACE values did not meaningfully improve the prediction, although some variables did significantly improve the model fit. In contrast, clinical variables mapping to cardiometabolic syndrome did independently contribute to the prediction of PACE values beyond the baseline model. The PACE values were poorly correlated with the GrimAge values (r = 0.2), with little overlap in variance explained other than that conveyed by smoking and drinking. The results suggest that EA indices may differ in the clinical information that they provide and may have significant limitations as screening tools to guide patient care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Philibert
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
- Behavioral Diagnostics LLC, Coralville, IA 52241, USA
| | - Man-Kit Lei
- Department of Sociology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA;
- Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA; (M.L.O.); (S.R.H.B.)
| | - Mei Ling Ong
- Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA; (M.L.O.); (S.R.H.B.)
| | - Steven R. H. Beach
- Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA; (M.L.O.); (S.R.H.B.)
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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Beach SRH, Ong ML, Gibbons FX, Gerrard M, Lei MK, Dawes K, Philibert RA. Epigenetic and Proteomic Biomarkers of Elevated Alcohol Use Predict Epigenetic Aging and Cell-Type variation Better Than Self-Report. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:1888. [PMID: 36292773 PMCID: PMC9601579 DOI: 10.3390/genes13101888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Excessive alcohol consumption (EAC) has a generally accepted effect on morbidity and mortality, outcomes thought to be reflected in measures of epigenetic aging (EA). As the association of self-reported EAC with EA has not been consistent with these expectations, underscoring the need for readily employable non-self-report tools for accurately assessing and monitoring the contribution of EAC to accelerated EA, newly developed alcohol consumption DNA methylation indices, such as the Alcohol T Score (ATS) and Methyl DetectR (MDR), may be helpful. To test that hypothesis, we used these new indices along with the carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT), concurrent as well as past self-reports of EAC, and well-established measures of cigarette smoking to examine the relationship of EAC to both accelerated EA and immune cell counts in a cohort of 437 young Black American adults. We found that MDR, CDT, and ATS were intercorrelated, even after controlling for gender and cotinine effects. Correlations between EA and self-reported EAC were low or non-significant, replicating prior research, whereas correlations with non-self-report indices were significant and more substantial. Comparing non-self-report indices showed that the ATS predicted more than four times as much variance in EA, CDT4 cells and B-cells as for both the MDR and CDT, and better predicted indices of accelerated EA. We conclude that each of the non-self-report indices have differing predictive capacities with respect to key alcohol-related health outcomes, and that the ATS may be particularly useful for clinicians seeking to understand and prevent accelerated EA. The results also underscore the likelihood of substantial underestimates of problematic use when self-report is used and a reduction in correlations with EA and variance in cell-types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven R. H. Beach
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
- Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Mei Ling Ong
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
- Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Frederick X. Gibbons
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Meg Gerrard
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Man-Kit Lei
- Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
- Department of Sociology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Kelsey Dawes
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
| | - Robert A. Philibert
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
- Behavioral Diagnostics LLC, Coralville, IA 52241, USA
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The Use of Epigenetic Biomarkers as Diagnostic and Therapeutic Options. EPIGENOMES 2022; 6:epigenomes6040030. [PMID: 36278676 PMCID: PMC9590074 DOI: 10.3390/epigenomes6040030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The last few decades have brought tremendous advances in the mechanisms of epigenetic regulation, with DNA methylation, histone methylation and acetylation, microRNAs and other noncoding RNAs being among the most prominent [...]
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Lei MK, Gibbons FX, Gerrard M, Beach SRH, Dawes K, Philibert R. Digital methylation assessments of alcohol and cigarette consumption account for common variance in accelerated epigenetic ageing. Epigenetics 2022; 17:1991-2005. [PMID: 35866695 PMCID: PMC9665121 DOI: 10.1080/15592294.2022.2100684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Smoking and Heavy Alcohol Consumption (HAC) are established risk factors for myriad complex disorders of ageing. Yet many prior studies of Epigenetic Ageing (EA) have shown only modest effects of smoking and drinking on accelerated ageing. One potential reason for this conundrum might be the reliance of some prior EA studies on self-reported substance use, which may be unreliable in many samples. To test whether novel, non-self-reported indices would show a stronger association of smoking and HAC to EA, we used methylation sensitive digital PCR (MSdPCR) and data from 437 African American subjects from Wave 7 of the Family and Community Health Study Offspring Cohort to examine the effects of subjective and objective measures of smoking and HAC on 7 indices of EA. Because of limited overall correlations between the various EA indices, we examined patterns of association separately for each index. Consistent with expectations, MSdPCR assessments of smoking and HAC, but not self-reported alcohol consumption, were strongly correlated with accelerated EA. MSdPCR assessments of smoking and HAC accounted for 57% of GrimAge acceleration and the shared variance in GrimAge and DunedinPOAM accelerated EA. We conclude that MSdPCR assessments of smoking and HAC are valuable tools for understanding EA, represent directly targetable conditions for the prevention of premature ageing, and substantially improve upon self-reported assessment of smoking and HAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Man-Kit Lei
- Department of Sociology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.,Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Frederick X Gibbons
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Meg Gerrard
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Steven R H Beach
- Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Kelsey Dawes
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Robert Philibert
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.,Behavioral Diagnostics LLC, Coralville, IA, USA
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Philibert R, Dawes K, Philibert W, Andersen AM, Hoffman EA. Alcohol Use Intensity Decreases in Response to Successful Smoking Cessation Therapy. Genes (Basel) 2021; 13:genes13010002. [PMID: 35052343 PMCID: PMC8775089 DOI: 10.3390/genes13010002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Smokers frequently drink heavily. However, the effectiveness of smoking cessation therapy for those with comorbid alcohol abuse is unclear, and the content of smoking cessation programs often does not address comorbid alcohol consumption. In order to achieve a better understanding of the relationship between changes in rate of smoking to the change in intensity of alcohol consumption, and the necessity for alcohol-specific programming for dual users, we quantified cigarette and alcohol consumption in 39 subjects undergoing a 3-month contingency management smoking cessation program using recently developed DNA methylation tools. Intake alcohol consumption, as quantified by the Alcohol T Score (ATS), was highly correlated with cg05575921 smoking intensity (adjusted R2 = 0.49) with 19 of the 39 subjects having ATS scores indicative of Heavy Alcohol Consumption. After 90 days of smoking cessation therapy, ATS values decreased with the change in ATS score being highly correlated with change in cg05575921 smoking intensity (adjusted R2 = 0.60), regardless of whether or not the subject managed to completely quit smoking. We conclude that alcohol consumption significantly decreases in response to successful smoking cessation. Further studies to determine whether targeted therapy focused on comorbid alcohol use increases the success of smoking cessation in those with dual use should be explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Philibert
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; (K.D.); (W.P.); (A.M.A.)
- Behavioral Diagnostics LLC, Coralville, IA 52241, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA;
- Correspondence:
| | - Kelsey Dawes
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; (K.D.); (W.P.); (A.M.A.)
| | - Willem Philibert
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; (K.D.); (W.P.); (A.M.A.)
| | - Allan M. Andersen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; (K.D.); (W.P.); (A.M.A.)
| | - Eric A. Hoffman
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA;
- Department of Radiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
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