title: Epigenetic Aging and Immune Senescence in Women With Insomnia Symptoms: Findings From the Women's Health Initiative Study.
abstract: Insomnia symptoms are associated with vulnerability to age-related morbidity and mortality. Cross-sectional data suggest that accelerated biological aging may be a mechanism through which sleep influences risk. A novel method for determining age acceleration using epigenetic methylation to DNA has demonstrated predictive utility as an epigenetic clock and prognostic of age-related morbidity and mortality.
  
  
  
  We examined the association of epigenetic age and immune cell aging with sleep in the Women's Health Initiative study (N = 2078; mean 64.5 ± 7.1 years of age) with assessment of insomnia symptoms (restlessness, difficulty falling asleep, waking at night, trouble getting back to sleep, and early awakenings), sleep duration (short sleep 5 hours or less; long sleep greater than 8 hours), epigenetic age, naive T cell (CD8+CD45RA+CCR7+), and late differentiated T cells (CD8+CD28-CD45RA-).
  
  
  
  Insomnia symptoms were related to advanced epigenetic age (β ± SE = 1.02 ± 0.37, p = .005) after adjustments for covariates. Insomnia symptoms were also associated with more late differentiated T cells (β ± SE = 0.59 ± 0.21, p = .006), but not with naive T cells. Self-reported short and long sleep duration were unrelated to epigenetic age. Short sleep, but not long sleep, was associated with fewer naive T cells (p < .005) and neither was related to late differentiated T cells.
  
  
  
  Symptoms of insomnia were associated with increased epigenetic age of blood tissue and were associated with higher counts of late differentiated CD8+ T cells. Short sleep was unrelated to epigenetic age and late differentiated cell counts, but was related to a decline in naive T cells. In this large population-based study of women in the United States, insomnia symptoms are implicated in accelerated aging.
authors.affiliation: Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles. Electronic address: jcarroll@mednet.ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Judith E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Carroll
authors.affiliation: Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Irwin
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Morgan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Teresa E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Seeman
authors.affiliation: HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Huntsville, Alabama.
authors.forename: Devin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Absher
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.
authors.forename: Themistocles
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Assimes
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, Los Angeles; Department of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Horvath
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000068884:Immunosenescence; D008875:Middle Aged; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology; D014481:United States; D016387:Women's Health
keywords: Aging; Epigenetic; Immunosenescence; Insomnia; Methylation; Sleep