Associations Between Loneliness, Epigenetic Aging, and Multimorbidity Through Older Adulthood.

Autor:	Freilich CD; Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA., Markon KE; Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA., Mann FD; Program in Public Health and Department of Family, Population, and Preventative Medicine, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA., Cole SW; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA., Krueger RF; Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences [J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci] 2024 Dec 01; Vol. 79 (12).
DOI:	10.1093/geronb/gbae169
Abstrakt:	Objectives: Loneliness is a pressing public health concern, but the mechanisms by which it leads to declining physical health are uncertain. Prior work has begun to explore epigenetic pathways, with some evidence suggesting a link between loneliness and DNA methylation, though it is unclear whether epigenetic variation can help explain loneliness-health associations. Methods: Associations between loneliness and epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) were estimated, as well as the degree to which EAA mediated and moderated the association between loneliness and the development of chronic physical health conditions (multimorbidity) in older adulthood. The sample consisted of Health and Retirement Study participants who provided blood draws and consented to methylation profiling (n = 4,018). Results: Baseline loneliness was associated with greater EAA in the GrimAge measure net of demographic and behavioral covariates (β = 0.07, p = .003). Loneliness and GrimAge each predicted increasing condition counts, but there was no evidence of an interactive effect. The association between loneliness and increasing condition counts was, however, significantly mediated by GrimAge (indirect path β = 0.020, p = .003). Discussion: These results suggest that the impact of loneliness on multimorbidity may, in part, operate through DNA methylation. The specific intermediary, physiological mechanisms that are involved will require further research, but EAA measures like GrimAge are promising in helping to understand the health impacts of loneliness. (© 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.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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