A DNA Methylation Marker, cg05575921 (AHRR), Outperforms Self-Reported Smoking Exposure for Its Association With...

Area of Science:

• Epigenetics
• Cardiovascular Disease Research
• Smoking Cessation Biomarkers

Background:

• Differential DNA methylation (DNAm) at the AHRR gene (CpG site cg05575921) is a validated biomarker for tobacco smoking exposure.
• Previous research established cg05575921 DNAm as a reliable indicator of smoking status.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the clinical relevance of AHRR cg05575921 DNAm in relation to prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD).
• To compare the predictive performance of this DNAm marker against traditional self-reported smoking assessments for CVD risk.

Main Methods:

• Assessed whole blood cg05575921 (AHRR) DNAm using droplet digital PCR in a cohort of 2784 elderly individuals.
• Utilized DNAm values to impute smoking status and analyze its independent association with prevalent CVD.

Main Results:

• cg05575921 DNAm demonstrated significant accuracy in identifying smoking status (never, ex-, current) and duration of cessation.
• DNAm-imputed smoking status showed a significant non-linear association with prevalent CVD, independent of self-reported smoking status and other covariates.
• Elevated cg05575921 levels were significantly associated with CVD even in never-smokers.

Conclusions:

• Imputed smoking status based on AHRR cg05575921 DNAm is significantly and independently associated with CVD prevalence.
• This epigenetic marker demonstrates superior predictive performance for CVD compared to self-reported smoking assessments.
• The findings suggest potential clinical utility of cg05575921 DNAm for enhancing precision medicine approaches in chronic disease risk prediction.