Exposure to Violence Accelerates Epigenetic Aging in Children

Scientific Reports - Tập 7 Số 1
Tanja Jovanović1, L. Alexander Vance1, Dorthie Cross1, Anna K. Knight2, Varun Kilaru1, Vasiliki Michopoulos1, Torsten Klengel3, Alicia K. Smith1
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 101 Woodruff Circle NE (Clifton RD NE), Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
2Genetics and Molecular Biology Program, 101 Woodruff Circle NE (Clifton RD NE), Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
3Neurobiology of Fear Laboratory, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA, 02478, USA

Tóm tắt

AbstractEpigenetic processes, including DNA methylation, change reliably with age across the lifespan, such that DNA methylation can be used as an “epigenetic clock”. This epigenetic clock can be used to predict age and age acceleration, which occurs when methylation-based prediction of age exceeds chronological age and has been associated with increased mortality. In the current study we examined epigenetic age acceleration using saliva samples collected from children between ages 6–13 (N = 101). Children’s exposure to neighborhood violence and heart rate during a stressful task were assessed. Age acceleration was associated with children’s direct experience of violence (p = 0.004) and with decreased heart rate (p = 0.002). Children who were predicted to be older than their chronological age had twice as much violence exposure as other children and their heart rate was similar to that of adults. The results remained significant after controlling for demographic variables, such as sex, income and education. This is the first study to show the effects of direct violence exposure on epigenetic aging in children using salivary DNA. Although longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether accelerated epigenetic aging leads to adverse health outcomes later in life, these data point to DNA methylation during childhood as a putative biological mechanism.

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