Stability of Aging- and Cognition-Related Methylation Profile Scores Across Two Waves in Children and Adolescents
DNA-methylation profile scores (MPSs) index biology relevant for lifelong physical and cognitive health, but information on their longitudinal stability in childhood is lacking. Using two waves of data collected from 2014 to 2022 (M<sub>lag</sub> between waves = 2.41 years) from N = 407 participants (M<sub>age</sub> = 12.05 years, 51% female, 60% White), test-retest correlations were estimated for four salivary MPSs related to aging (PhenoAgeAccel, GrimAgeAccel, DunedinPACE), and cognitive function (Epigenetic-g). MPSs varied in longitudinal stability (test-retest rs = 0.38 to 0.76). MPSs did not differ in children exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic, but race-ethnic and sex differences were apparent. Further research is necessary to understand which environmental perturbations impact DNA-methylation trajectories and when children are most sensitive to those impacts.
Authors
- Aditi Sabhlok (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6604-1698)
- Laurel Raffington (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0144-5605)
- K. Paige Harden (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1557-6737)
- Elliot M. Tucker–Drob (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5599-6237)
- Abby J. deSteiguer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1615-7920)
- Peter T. Tanksley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3449-2838)
Institutions
- Max Planck Institute for Human Development (DE)
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Child Development
- Published
- 2025-04-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14239
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.42
Funders
- Jacobs Foundation
- National Institutes of Health
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development