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. 2015 Dec;63(12):2519-2525.
doi: 10.1111/jgs.13830. Epub 2015 Nov 14.

Methylomic Aging as a Window onto the Influence of Lifestyle: Tobacco and Alcohol Use Alter the Rate of Biological Aging

Steven R H Beach  1   2 , Meeshanthini V Dogan  3   4 , Man-Kit Lei  2 , Carolyn E Cutrona  5 , Meg Gerrard  6 , Frederick X Gibbons  6 , Ronald L Simons  2   7 , Gene H Brody  2 , Robert A Philibert  3   4
Affiliations

Methylomic Aging as a Window onto the Influence of Lifestyle: Tobacco and Alcohol Use Alter the Rate of Biological Aging

Steven R H Beach et al. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2015 Dec.

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the effect of the relationship between alcohol and cigarette consumption on biological aging using deoxyribonucleic acid methylation-based indices.

Design: Hierarchical linear regression modeling followed by fitting of higher-order effects.

Setting: Longitudinal studies of aging and the effect of psychosocial stress.

Participants: Participants in two ethnically informative cohorts (n = 656 white, n = 180 black).

Measurements: Deviation of biological age from chronological age as a result of smoking and alcohol consumption.

Results: Greater cigarette consumption was associated with accelerated biological aging, with strong effects evident at even low levels of exposure. In contrast, alcohol consumption was associated with a mixed effect on biological aging and pronounced nonlinear effects. At low and heavy levels of alcohol consumption, there was accelerated biological aging, whereas at intermediate levels of consumption there was a relative decelerating effect. The decelerating effects of alcohol were particularly notable at loci for which methylation increased with age.

Conclusion: These data support prior epidemiological studies indicating that moderate alcohol use is associated with healthy aging, but we urge caution in interpreting these results. Conversely, smoking has strong negative effects at all levels of consumption. These results also support the use of methylomic indices as a tool for assessing the impact of lifestyle on aging.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: Pending property claims cover the use of DNA methylation to assess alcohol use status. U.S. patent 8,637,652 and other pending claims cover the use of DNA methylation to assess smoking status. Dr. Philibert is a potential royalty recipient on those intellectual right claims. Dr. Philibert is an officer and stockholder of Behavioral Diagnostics (www.bdmethylation.com).

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Graph of the best-fitting model representing the effect of smoking consumption (solid line; cg05575921) and alcohol consumption (dotted line; cg23193759) on biological aging using Hannum’s weights. All values within ±3 standard deviations of the mean of each predictor are included. In each case, lower scores on the x-axis indicate greater substance use exposure, and higher scores on the y-axis indicate relatively greater acceleration of the biological clock. Predicted scores represent residual biological age after controlling for chronological age.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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