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DNA Methylation at C-Reactive Protein-Associated CpG Sites May Mediate the Pathway Between Educational Attainment and Cognition.
- Source :
-
The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences [J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci] 2024 Aug 01; Vol. 79 (8). - Publication Year :
- 2024
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Abstract
- Growing evidence has linked inflammatory processes to cognitive decline and dementia. This work examines whether an epigenetic marker of C-reactive protein (CRP), a common clinical inflammatory biomarker, may mediate the relationship between educational attainment and cognition. We first evaluated whether 53 previously reported CRP-associated DNA methylation sites (CpGs) are associated with CRP, both individually and aggregated into a methylation risk score (MRSCRP), in 3 298 participants from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, mean age = 69.7 years). Forty-nine CpGs (92%) were associated with the natural logarithm of CRP in HRS after adjusting for age, sex, smoking, BMI, genetic ancestry, and white blood cell counts (p < .05), and each standard deviation increase in MRSCRP was associated with a 0.38 unit increase in lnCRP (p = 4.02E-99). In cross-sectional analysis, for each standard deviation increase in MRSCRP, total memory score and total cognitive score decreased, on average, by 0.28 words and 0.43 items, respectively (p < .001). Further, MRSCRP mediated 6.9% of the relationship between high school education and total memory score in a model adjusting for age, sex, and genetic ancestry (p < .05); this was attenuated to 2.4% with additional adjustment for marital status, APOE ε4 status, health behaviors, and comorbidities (p < .05). Thus, CRP-associated methylation may partially mediate the relationship between education and cognition at older ages. Further research is warranted to determine whether DNA methylation at these sites may improve current prediction models for cognitive impairment in older adults.<br /> (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1758-535X
- Volume :
- 79
- Issue :
- 8
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 38896024
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glae159