biostudies-literatureUnknownYuan S<h4>Background</h4>Epigenetic mechanism underlying susceptibility to abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) remain poorly understood. Identifying causal DNA methylation markers for AAA can elucidate the regulatory processes that drive aneurysm formation and would accelerate translational applications. We leveraged the VA Million Veteran Program (MVP) to identify methylation biomarkers and delineate underlying pathways.<h4>Methods</h4>We first conducted an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of incident AAA (1,324 cases; 42,065 non-cases), performed stratified analyses by population group and smoking status, and conducted Mendelian randomization (MR) to facilitate casual inference of the CpG-AAA association. Chromatin state, island context, and TF binding were implicated through functional annmedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences2026.01.26.26344463https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12870697biostudies-literatureEpigenetics in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: Mechanisms and Risk Prediction.PMC12870697Yuan SHartmann KTsao PVA Million Veteran ProgramPyarajan SLynch JAJudy RDamrauer SMJones GTLevy DChang KMShakt GLevin MGJoehanes RDinatale TVoight BFVoorhees AfalseEpigenetics in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: Mechanisms and Risk Prediction.<h4>Background</h4>Epigenetic mechanism underlying susceptibility to abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) remain poorly understood. Identifying causal DNA methylation markers for AAA can elucidate the regulatory processes that drive aneurysm formation and would accelerate translational applications. We leveraged the VA Million Veteran Program (MVP) to identify methylation biomarkers and delineate underlying pathways.<h4>Methods</h4>We first conducted an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of incident AAA (1,324 cases; 42,065 non-cases), performed stratified analyses by population group and smoking status, and conducted Mendelian randomization (MR) to facilitate casual inference of the CpG-AAA association. Chromatin state, island context, and TF binding were implicated through functional ann2026-01-01T00:00:00Z2026 Jan2026-07-09T10:52:34.185Z2026-07-09T10:31:31.248ZS-EPMC128706974164671710.64898/2026.01.26.26344463