title: An epigenetic clock analysis of race/ethnicity, sex, and coronary heart disease.
abstract: Epigenetic biomarkers of aging (the "epigenetic clock") have the potential to address puzzling findings surrounding mortality rates and incidence of cardio-metabolic disease such as: (1) women consistently exhibiting lower mortality than men despite having higher levels of morbidity; (2) racial/ethnic groups having different mortality rates even after adjusting for socioeconomic differences; (3) the black/white mortality cross-over effect in late adulthood; and (4) Hispanics in the United States having a longer life expectancy than Caucasians despite having a higher burden of traditional cardio-metabolic risk factors.
  
  
  
  We analyzed blood, saliva, and brain samples from seven different racial/ethnic groups. We assessed the intrinsic epigenetic age acceleration of blood (independent of blood cell counts) and the extrinsic epigenetic aging rates of blood (dependent on blood cell counts and tracks the age of the immune system). In blood, Hispanics and Tsimane Amerindians have lower intrinsic but higher extrinsic epigenetic aging rates than Caucasians. African-Americans have lower extrinsic epigenetic aging rates than Caucasians and Hispanics but no differences were found for the intrinsic measure. Men have higher epigenetic aging rates than women in blood, saliva, and brain tissue.
  
  
  
  Epigenetic aging rates are significantly associated with sex, race/ethnicity, and to a lesser extent with CHD risk factors, but not with incident CHD outcomes. These results may help elucidate lower than expected mortality rates observed in Hispanics, older African-Americans, and women.
authors: Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. shorvath@mednet.ucla.edu.|Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. shorvath@mednet.ucla.edu.
authors: Steve
authors: 0000-0002-4110-3589
authors: S
authors: Horvath
authors: Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Gurven
authors: Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
authors: Morgan E
authors: ME
authors: Levine
authors: Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
authors: Benjamin C
authors: BC
authors: Trumble
authors: Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA.
authors: Hillard
authors: H
authors: Kaplan
authors: Department of Preventive Medicine and Institute for Genetic Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.
authors: Hooman
authors: H
authors: Allayee
authors: Department of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
authors: Beate R
authors: BR
authors: Ritz
authors: Longitudinal Studies Section, Translational Gerontology Branch, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA.
authors: Brian
authors: B
authors: Chen
authors: Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
authors: Ake T
authors: AT
authors: Lu
authors: Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, AIDS Institute, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors: Tammy M
authors: TM
authors: Rickabaugh
authors: Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, AIDS Institute, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors: Beth D
authors: BD
authors: Jamieson
authors: Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA.
authors: Dianjianyi
authors: D
authors: Sun
authors: Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA.
authors: Shengxu
authors: S
authors: Li
authors: Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA.
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Chen
authors: Unit of Human Evolutionary Genetics, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, URA3012, URA3012 Institut Pasteur, Paris, 75015, France.
authors: Lluis
authors: L
authors: Quintana-Murci
authors: Department of Biostatistics, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Department of Computational Biology and Biostatistics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
authors: Maud
authors: M
authors: Fagny
authors: Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute and Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4H4, Canada.
authors: Michael S
authors: MS
authors: Kobor
authors: Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.|VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
authors: Philip S
authors: PS
authors: Tsao
authors: Department of Epidemiology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA.
authors: Alexander P
authors: AP
authors: Reiner
authors: Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
authors: Kerstin L
authors: KL
authors: Edlefsen
authors: HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Huntsville, AL, 35806, USA.
authors: Devin
authors: D
authors: Absher
authors: Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
authors: Themistocles L
authors: TL
authors: Assimes
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000235:genetics; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000235:genetics*; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000235:genetics; D012307:Risk Factors; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics
keywords: Aging; Black/white mortality cross-over; Coronary heart disease; DNA methylation; Epigenetic clock; Gender; Hispanic paradox; Race