Epigenetic entropy, social disparity, and health and lifespan in the Women's Health Initiative.

ABSTRACT: The pace of aging varies between individuals and is marked by changes in DNA methylation (DNAm) including an increase in randomness or entropy. Here, we computed epigenetic scores of aging and entropy using DNAm datasets from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). We investigated how different epigenetic aging metrics relate to demographic and health variables, and mortality risk. Income and education, two proxies of socioeconomics (SE), had consistent associations with epigenetic aging and entropy. Notably, stochastic increases in DNAm at sites targeted by the polycomb proteins were significantly related to both aging and SE. While higher income was associated with reduced age-related DNAm changes in White women, the protective effect of income was diminished in Black and Hispanic women, an

SUBMITTER: Mozhui K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11888519 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature