Association between wildfire-related PM2.5 and epigenetic aging: A twin and family study in Australia
Wildfire-related PM<sub>2.5</sub> has been associated with various adverse health outcomes, but its association with epigenetic aging remains unclear. This study examined the association between wildfire-related PM<sub>2.5</sub> exposure and epigenetic aging using DNA methylation data from a twin and family study. With a within-sibship analysis, we found that each 1 µg/m<sup>3</sup> increase in annual wildfire-related PM<sub>2.5</sub> was associated with a 0.25-year (95 % CI: 0.04, 0.47) increase in GrimAge1 acceleration and a 0.36-year (95 % CI: 0.12, 0.59) increase in GrimAge2 acceleration. Subgroup analyses found that participants aged ≥ 60 years, those with a history of current or former smoking and alcohol consumption, and those living in rural regions exhibited more pronounced epigenetic age acceleration. These findings suggest that wildfire smoke could accelerate biological aging, particularly in vulnerable populations, posing a significant challenge to healthy aging.
Authors
- Yao Yu Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8105-0522)
- Bo Wen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8379-1730)
- Pierre‐Antoine Dugué (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2736-3023)
- John L. Hopper (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8567-173X)
- Michael John Abramson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9954-0538)
- Rongbin Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1906-8614)
- Melissa C. Southey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6313-9005)
- Shanshan Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9021-8470)
- Shuai Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8696-8594)
- Yuming Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1766-6592)
Institutions
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Cancer Council Victoria (AU)
- Monash Children’s Hospital (AU)
- Monash Health (AU)
- Monash University (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Hazardous Materials
- Published
- 2024-11-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136486
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Air Quality and Health Impacts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.26
Funders
- Boehringer Ingelheim
- Pfizer
- National Breast Cancer Foundation
- Cancer Australia
- VicHealth
- China Scholarship Council
- Australian Research Council
- National Health and Medical Research Council