Early-Life Adversity and Epigenetic Aging: Findings from a 17-Year Longitudinal Study

Youth exposed to early-life adversity (ELA) are at greater risk for poorer physical and mental health outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Although the biological mechanisms underlying these associations remain elusive, DNA methylation (DNAm) has emerged as a potential pathway. DNAm-based measures of epigenetic age have been associated with ELA, indicating accelerated aging. According to the stress sensitization hypothesis, prenatal adversity may further heighten sensitivity to subsequent stressors in childhood and adolescence. This study examined the associations between ELA and six epigenetic aging measures, considering both the timing of adversity and the participant's sex. Data were drawn from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, with two cumulative indices of ELA derived from prospectively collected data: the Perinatal Adversity and the Child and Adolescent Adversity indices. Higher Perinatal Adversity scores were associated with accelerated DunedinPACE scores. No significant associations were found between ELA and the other epigenetic clocks, nor did we find support for the stress sensitization hypothesis-though a sex-specific trend emerged among girls. The findings suggest that DunedinPACE may be more sensitive to variations in ELA than other clocks. Future research should systematically investigate sex-dimorphic associations between ELA and epigenetic aging, with particular attention to the impact of perinatal adversity.