Negative wealth shock and epigenetic aging in middle-aged and older adults.

IF 3 3区医学 Q3 GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY

Gerontology Pub Date : 2025-09-18 DOI:10.1159/000548231

Zhuo Li, Yantao Wang, Xin Ning, Yanan Luo

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives: Negative wealth shocks can pose a serious threat to health, however, there has been no research exploring the potential link between negative wealth shocks and epigenetic aging. This study aims to explore the relationship between negative wealth shocks and epigenetic aging in middle-aged and older adults.

Methods: This study conducted an analysis using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). The analytical sample was narrowed down to include only participants with a 2016 VBS sampling weight, resulting in a final sample size of 3,982 individuals. A negative wealth shock is characterized by a decline of 75% or more in total wealth between two consecutive waves, representing a significant decline in wealth. Various epigenetic clocks-including Horvath, Hannum, PhenoAge, GrimAge, DunedinPoAm, epiTOC, Zhang, and Skin&Blood-were employed to assess biological age by analyzing DNA methylation patterns. OLS linear regression was used to evaluate the relationship between wealth status and the epigenetic clocks.

Results: Among the participants, 6.98% experienced a negative wealth shock, 6.93% were classified as baseline asset poor, and 86.09% belonged to the positive wealth group. No significant relationship was found between negative wealth shock and the first-generation epigenetic clocks (Horvath and Hannum). However, a correlation was observed between negative wealth shock and accelerated epigenetic aging when assessed using the second-generation clocks (epiTOC, Zhang, GrimAge) and the third-generation clock (DunedinPoAm), with the exception of PhenoAge and Horvath2. After adjusting for demographic factors and socioeconomic factors, the significant association between negative wealth shock and accelerated aging in DunedinPoAm, Zhang, and GrimAge persisted. This significance remained even after further adjustments for lifestyle factors and health conditions.

Conclusions: Our study identifies a significant relationship between negative wealth shocks and biological aging in middle-aged and older adults. This suggests that socioeconomic factors, particularly sudden economic losses and fluctuations, should be considered in strategies for promoting healthy longevity and aging interventions. Additionally, there is a need for unemployment protection policies or measures to help stabilize medical and food consumption for households or individuals during times of economic instability, addressing the negative impacts of wealth shocks on accelerated aging.

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中老年人负财富冲击与表观遗传衰老。

负面财富冲击可能对健康构成严重威胁，然而，目前还没有研究探索负面财富冲击与表观遗传衰老之间的潜在联系。本研究旨在探讨中老年人负财富冲击与表观遗传衰老的关系。方法：本研究使用健康与退休研究（HRS）的数据进行分析。分析样本被缩小到只包括2016年VBS抽样权重的参与者，最终样本量为3982人。负财富冲击的特征是在连续两波之间总财富下降75%或更多，代表财富显著下降。各种表观遗传时钟——包括Horvath、Hannum、PhenoAge、GrimAge、DunedinPoAm、epiTOC、Zhang和skin & blood——被用来通过分析DNA甲基化模式来评估生物年龄。采用OLS线性回归评价财富状况与表观遗传时钟之间的关系。结果：在参与者中，6.98%的人经历了负财富冲击，6.93%的人被归类为基线资产贫乏，86.09%的人属于正财富群体。负财富冲击与第一代表观遗传时钟之间没有显著的关系（Horvath和Hannum）。然而，当使用第二代时钟（epiTOC, Zhang, GrimAge）和第三代时钟（DunedinPoAm）进行评估时，发现负财富冲击与加速表观遗传衰老之间存在相关性，但表型age和Horvath2除外。在调整了人口因素和社会经济因素后，DunedinPoAm， Zhang和GrimAge的负财富冲击与加速老龄化之间的显著关联仍然存在。即使在进一步调整了生活方式因素和健康状况之后，这种重要性仍然存在。结论：我们的研究确定了负财富冲击与中老年人生物衰老之间的显著关系。这表明，在促进健康长寿和老龄化干预措施的战略中，应考虑社会经济因素，特别是突然的经济损失和波动。此外，还需要制定失业保护政策或措施，以帮助稳定经济不稳定时期家庭或个人的医疗和食品消费，解决财富冲击对加速老龄化的负面影响。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Gerontology 医学-老年医学

CiteScore

6.00

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

6-12 weeks

期刊介绍： In view of the ever-increasing fraction of elderly people, understanding the mechanisms of aging and age-related diseases has become a matter of urgent necessity. ''Gerontology'', the oldest journal in the field, responds to this need by drawing topical contributions from multiple disciplines to support the fundamental goals of extending active life and enhancing its quality. The range of papers is classified into four sections. In the Clinical Section, the aetiology, pathogenesis, prevention and treatment of agerelated diseases are discussed from a gerontological rather than a geriatric viewpoint. The Experimental Section contains up-to-date contributions from basic gerontological research. Papers dealing with behavioural development and related topics are placed in the Behavioural Science Section. Basic aspects of regeneration in different experimental biological systems as well as in the context of medical applications are dealt with in a special section that also contains information on technological advances for the elderly. Providing a primary source of high-quality papers covering all aspects of aging in humans and animals, ''Gerontology'' serves as an ideal information tool for all readers interested in the topic of aging from a broad perspective.