A new study has found that children who are withdrawn, have mental health problems, or exhibit aggressive behavior tend to have higher DNA methylation indices and a faster pace of biological aging. Children from higher socioeconomic status and white families tend to have a slower pace of biological aging. The study found that Clinical Psychology.
DNA methylation indexes are biomarkers based on DNA methylation patterns that involve the addition of methyl groups to DNA molecules. These chemical groups, which consist of one carbon atom and three hydrogen atoms (–CH₃), regulate gene expression by turning genes on or off without changing the underlying DNA sequence. Studies have shown that these methylation changes are associated with aging.
Using this knowledge, scientists have developed a method to use DNA methylation data to calculate an individual’s biological age. Biological age reflects an individual’s physiological and functional status, which is influenced by lifestyle, genetic and environmental factors. While chronological age simply indicates the number of years a person has lived, biological age can be higher or lower depending on health status and the aging process.
Study author Laurel Laffington and her colleagues aimed to determine whether changes in DNA methylation associated with inflammation and aging were associated with children’s mental health, racial/ethnic background, and socioeconomic status. They focused on indicators of the rate of biological aging and low-level inflammation throughout the body derived from DNA methylation patterns.
The researchers analyzed data from the Texas Twins Project, which included 1,183 twins recruited from public school rosters in Central Texas. Participants were aged between 8 and 19 years and included 609 females, 426 identical twins, and 757 fraternal twins from 617 different families. Of these, 195 provided two DNA methylation samples taken between three and 38 months apart.
The researchers used biological age and DNA methylation data, which indicates low-grade systemic inflammation, as well as mental health data and symptom counts from the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist completed by parents. They also collected sociodemographic data, including measures of socioeconomic disadvantage at the neighborhood and family levels, and racial/ethnic identity.
Results showed that children from disadvantaged neighborhoods generally had poorer mental health symptoms in all domains except conduct disorder, and more introversion and attention problems. Parents of Latino and Black children reported more introversion and attention problems than parents of White children. Introversion problems include issues such as anxiety, depression, and social withdrawal.
Children’s self-reported mental health ratings also showed that children from disadvantaged areas had poorer mental health, but the association was weaker when compared with parent-reported data.No significant association was found between race and mental health when child-reported mental health measures were used.
We found that children whose parents reported severe internalizing disorders had higher biological age and DNA methylation indices of systemic inflammation. Similarly, we observed higher biological age in children whose parents reported aggression. There were no significant associations between child-reported mental health indices and DNA methylation indices.
“Our findings suggest that salivary DNA methylation patterns, originally of adult onset, associated with higher inflammation and faster biological aging, are economically and racially stratified and associated with children’s mental health. Because saliva is easily collected in large pediatric epidemiological studies and may indicate novel health conditions, these DNA methylation algorithms may be utilized in research to understand and prevent economic and racial disparities in children’s mental health,” the study authors conclude.
This study uncovers associations between children’s mental health and DNA methylation indices of age and inflammation. However, it is important to note that these associations are primarily based on parental report and may be subject to reporting bias. Parents may have different reporting strategies, which may affect the results.
The paper, “Associations between DNA methylation measures of biological aging and social disparities in child and adolescent mental health,” was written by Laurel Ruffington, Peter T. Tanksley, Liza Vinik, Aditi Sabrok, Megan W. Patterson, Travis Mallard, Margherita Maranchini, Giada Ayorechi, Elliot M. Tucker Drob, and Katherine Paige Harden.
