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Association between sleep disordered breathing and epigenetic age acceleration: Evidence from the Multi-Ethnic Study
Xiaoyu Li1, Roby Joehanes2, Ina Hoeschele3
1Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 221 Longwood Avenue, BL252, Boston, MA 02115, United States; Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States.
Background:
Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is a common disorder that results in oxidative stress and inflammation and is associated with multiple age-related health outcomes. Epigenetic age acceleration is a DNA methylation (DNAm)-based marker of fast biological aging. We examined the associations of SDB traits with epigenetic age acceleration.
Methods:
A sample of 622 participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) had blood DNAm measured and underwent Type 2 in-home polysomnography that assessed apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), percentage of sleep time with oxygen saturation lower than 90% (Per90), and arousal index. DNAm data provided measures of DNAm-Age acceleration and DNAm-PhenoAge acceleration. The association of each SDB trait with age acceleration was estimated using linear regression, controlling for covariates. In secondary analyses, we studied the associations of SDB traits with epigenetic age acceleration 2-10 years after sleep study in 530 individuals from the Framingham Heart Study (FHS).
Findings:
In MESA, AHI was associated with greater DNAm-PhenoAge acceleration (β = 0.03; 95% CI [0.001, 0.06]). Arousal index was associated with greater DNAm-Age acceleration (β = 0.04; 95% CI [0.01, 0.07]). Both associations were stronger in women than men. In the secondary FHS analyses, Per90 was associated with greater DNAm-Age acceleration and this association was stronger in men.
Interpretation:
More severe SDB was associated with epigenetic age acceleration in both cohorts. Future work should prospectively study short- and long-term effects of SDB, and whether treatment reduces epigenetic age acceleration among those individuals with SBD.
Funding:
National Institutes of Health.
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