Accelerated epigenetic age at birth and child emotional and behavioral development in early childhood: a meta-analysis of four prospective cohort studies in ECHO

Background: “Epigenetic clocks” have been developed to accurately predict chronologic gestational age and have been associated with child health outcomes in prior work. Methods:We meta-analyzed results from four prospective U.S cohorts investigating the association between epigenetic age acceleration estimated using blood DNA methylation collected at birth and preschool age Childhood Behavior Checklist (CBCL) scores. Results:Epigenetic aging was not significantly associated with CBCL total problem scores (β= 0.33, 95% CI: -0.95, 0.28) and DSM-oriented pervasive development problem scores (β=-0.23, 95% CI: -0.61, 0.15). No associations were observed for other DSM-oriented subscales. Conclusions:These findings may relate to our sample size or sample characteristics; future work should address the role of epigenetic age in child health in other study populations.