Epigenetic Age Acceleration and Cognitive Function in African-American Adults in Midlife: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

Abstract

Methylation levels measured at defined sites across the genome have recently been shown to be correlated with an individual s chronological age. Age acceleration, or the difference between age estimated from DNA methylation status and chronological age, has been proposed as a novel biomarker of aging. In this study, the cross-sectional association between two different measures of age acceleration and cognitive function was investigated using whole blood samples from 2,157 African-American participants 47-70 years of age in the population-based Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. Cognition was evaluated using three domain-specific tests. A significant inverse association between a one-year increase in age acceleration calculated using a blood-based age predictor and scores on the Word Fluency Test was found using a general linear model adjusted for chronological age, gender, and years of education (β = -0.140 words; p = 0.001) and after adding other potential confounding variables (β = -0.104 words, p = 0.023). The results were replicated in 1,670 European participants in the Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study (fully adjusted model: β = -0.199 words; p = 0.034). A significant association was also identified in a trans-ethnic meta-analysis across cohorts that included an additional 708 European American ARIC study participants (fully adjusted model: β = -0.110 words, p = 0.003). There were no associations found using an estimate of age acceleration derived from multiple tissues. These findings provide evidence that age acceleration is a correlate of performance on a test of verbal fluency in middle-aged adults.