Biological aging analysis based on DNA methylation status for social anxiety disorder

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Epigenetics
• Aging Research

Background:

• Social anxiety disorder (SAD) involves intense fear of scrutiny, leading to distress and dysfunction.
• SAD is associated with increased risk for age-related diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
• Epigenetic clock analysis measures biological aging via DNA methylation (DNAm).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate epigenetic aging in individuals with SAD.
• To examine DNAm-based predictive values of aging-related proteins, including leptin, in SAD patients.
• To explore the association between SAD and epigenetic age acceleration.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the publicly available DNAm dataset GSE164056 (66 SAD patients, 77 controls).
• Participants were Caucasian, aged 18-50 years.
• Performed regression analyses with age and sex as covariates.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in epigenetic clock age acceleration were observed between SAD patients and controls.
• Leptin levels, predicted by GrimAge and GrimAge2 DNAm components, were significantly lower in SAD patients.
• The association remained significant after adjusting for covariates.

Conclusions:

• Leptin may be implicated in the pathogenesis of social anxiety disorder.
• Lower leptin levels in SAD patients suggest a potential link to aging-related mechanisms.
• Further research with diverse study designs is needed to confirm these findings.