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Updated: Dec 25, 2025
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A Rat Methyl-Seq Platform to Identify Epigenetic Changes Associated with Stress Exposure
Published on: October 24, 2018
11.2K
Psychosocial stress and epigenetic aging
Helena Palma-Gudiel1, Lourdes Fañanás1, Steve Horvath2
1Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain.
International Review of Neurobiology
|March 25, 2020
Summary
Psychosocial stress accelerates epigenetic aging, a biological marker influenced by DNA methylation. This accelerated aging may explain how stress impacts health and disease risk, highlighting the need for further research.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Epigenetics
- Psychosocial factors
Background:
- Aging is the primary risk factor for major diseases.
- Individual aging rates vary, influenced by factors like psychosocial stress.
- Epigenetic aging, measured by DNA methylation, is a key indicator of biological age.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review evidence linking psychosocial stress to accelerated epigenetic aging.
- To explore epigenetic aging as a mediator between psychosocial environment and health outcomes.
- To discuss methodological challenges and potential mechanisms in stress-induced epigenetic aging.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies on psychosocial stress and epigenetic aging.
- Focus on DNA methylation-based age predictors across various tissues.
- Analysis of different types of psychosocial stress exposures.
Main Results:
- Evidence suggests psychosocial stress (early-life, cumulative, low SES) accelerates epigenetic aging.
- Accelerated epigenetic aging is a potential mechanism linking stress to disease.
- Methodological variations may explain inconsistent findings across studies.
Conclusions:
- Psychosocial stress significantly impacts epigenetic aging.
- Understanding stress-induced epigenetic changes is crucial for aging-related disease research.
- Further investigation into biological weathering indicators is warranted.
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