Self-control is associated with health-relevant disparities in buccal DNA-methylation measures of biological aging in older adults

Abstract

Self-control is a personality dimension that is associated with better physical health and a longer lifespan. Here we examined (1) whether self-control is associated with buccal and saliva DNA-methylation (DNAm) measures of biological aging quantified in children, adolescents, and adults, and (2) whether biological aging measured in buccal DNAm is associated with self-reported health. Following preregistered analyses, we computed two DNAm measures of advanced biological age (PhenoAge and GrimAge Acceleration) and a DNAm measure of pace of aging (DunedinPACE) in buccal samples from the German Socioeconomic Panel Study (SOEP-G[ene], n = 1058, age range 0-72, Mage = 42.65) and saliva samples from the Texas Twin Project (TTP, n = 1327, age range 8-20, Mage = 13.50). We found that lower self-control was associated with advanced biological age in older adults (β =-.34), but not young adults, adolescents or children. This association was not accounted for by statistical correction for socioeconomic contexts, BMI, or genetic correlates of low self-control. Moreover, a faster pace of aging and advanced biological age measured in buccal DNAm were associated with worse self-reported health (β =.13 to β = .19). But, effect sizes were weaker than observations in blood, thus customization of DNAm aging measures to buccal and saliva tissues may be necessary. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that self-control is associated with health via pathways that accelerate biological aging in older adults. Keywords: Self-control; DNA-methylation; pace of aging; biological aging; health; life span

Stability of DNA-Methylation Profiles of Biological Aging in Children and Adolescents

“…Specifically, child victimization, family and neighborhoodlevel socioeconomic disadvantage in childhood, and belonging to a marginalized racial or ethnic group are associated cross-sectionally with MPSs that index more advanced biological age, a faster pace of aging, and lower cognitive performance in childhood. [14][15][16][17] Together, this research suggests that MPSs might be useful for quantifying, in real time, how early life experiences affect aging-related biology. However, there is currently very little information regarding when aging-related DNAm patterns are most sensitive to environmental change, versus when they are canalized into relatively stable trajectories.…”

Utilizing epigenetics to study the shared nature of development and biological aging across the lifespan

“…Given previous research that age-related diseases and mortality can be predicted from early life factors, we probed whether MPSs of biological aging and related phenotypes were sensitive to childhood socioeconomic and racial/ethnic marginalization measured in real-time. In the Texas Twin Project, we found children from underserved families to have MPSs indicating advanced biological age, a faster pace of aging, higher chronic inflammation, higher BMI, and lower cognitive health 26,34,46 . Some of these findings have been replicated in buccal samples from the German SOEP-G sample 27 , as well as the Future Families and Child Well-Being Study, where we found socioeconomic contexts at birth relative to concurrent socioeconomic contexts in childhood and adolescence to be most strongly associated with MPS of BMI in childhood and adolescence ( 26,47 ; for review see also 48 ).…”