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Frailty is associated with the epigenetic clock but not with telomere length in a German cohort.
- Source :
-
Clinical Epigenetics . 2/26/2016, Vol. 8, p1-8. 8p. - Publication Year :
- 2016
-
Abstract
- Background: The epigenetic clock, in particular epigenetic pre-aging quantified by the so-called DNA methylation age acceleration, has recently been suggested to closely correlate with a variety of disease phenotypes. There remains a dearth of data, however, on its association with telomere length and frailty, which can be considered major correlates of age on the genomic and clinical level, respectively. Results: In this cross-sectional observational study on altogether 1820 subjects from two subsets (n = 969 and n = 851; mean ± standard deviation age 62.1 ± 6.5 and 63.0 ± 6.7 years, respectively) of the ESTHER cohort study of the elderly general population in Germany, DNA methylation age was calculated based on a 353 loci predictor previously developed in a large meta-study, and the difference-based epigenetic age acceleration was calculated as predicted methylation age minus chronological age. No correlation of epigenetic age acceleration with telomere length was found in our study (p = 0.63). However, there was an association of DNA methylation age acceleration with a comprehensive frailty measure, such that the accumulated deficits significantly increased with increasing age acceleration. Quantitatively, about half an additional deficit was added per 6 years of methylation age acceleration (p = 0.0004). This association was independent from age, sex, and estimated leukocyte distribution, as well as from a variety of other confounding variables considered. Conclusions: The results of the present study suggest that epigenetic age acceleration is correlated with clinically relevant aging-related phenotypes through pathways unrelated to cellular senescence as assessed by telomere length. Innovative approaches like Mendelian randomization will be needed to elucidate whether epigenetic age acceleration indeed plays a causal role for the development of clinical phenotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *EPIGENETICS
*TELOMERES
*FRAGILITY (Psychology)
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 18687075
- Volume :
- 8
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Clinical Epigenetics
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 113472349
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s13148-016-0186-5