Comparing Veteran and Nonveteran Epigenetic Aging in a Representative Sample of United States Adults.

IF 1.2 4区医学 Q2 MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL Military Medicine Pub Date : 2025-03-13 DOI:10.1093/milmed/usaf071

Jamaji C Nwanaji-Enwerem, Dennis Khodasevich, Nicole Gladish, Hanyang Shen, Saher Daredia, Belinda L Needham, David H Rehkopf, Andres Cardenas

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Abstract

Introduction: Military service can significantly impact human health, with research showing that veterans experience higher mortality rates than the general population. However, limited data exist on the relationships of veteran status with biomarkers of aging that may precede clinical illness and mortality.

Methods: Using survey-design weighted generalized linear regression models, we examined the cross-sectional relationship of self-reported veteran status with DNA methylation (DNAm)-based biomarkers of aging (epigenetic age) in a representative sample of 2344 U.S. adults participating in the 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We tested 7 epigenetic aging markers: HannumAge, HorvathAge, SkinBloodAge, PhenoAge, GrimAge2, DNAm Telomere Length (TL), and DunedinPoAm.

Results: After adjusting for basic demographics, veterans had marginally greater SkinBloodAge (β = 0.86 years, 95% CI: -0.10, 1.81, P = .08) and GrimAge2 (β = 0.71 years, 95% CI: -0.07, 1.49, P = .07) measures when compared to nonveterans. Similar SkinBloodAge (β = 1.00 years, 95% CI: -0.01, 2.00, P = .05) and GrimAge2 (β = 0.69 years, 95% CI: -0.14, 1.52, P = .09) relationships were observed in fully-adjusted models where missing health and lifestyle covariates were imputed. Compared to nonveterans, veterans also had higher DNAm-estimated blood levels of GrimAge2-components hemoglobin A1c (β = 0.006, 95% CI: 0.0005, 0.01, P = .03) and protein TIMP1 (β = 71.14, 95% CI: 8.28, 134.01, P = .03) in basic demographic-adjusted models. In fully-adjusted imputed models (β = 96.40, 95% CI: -15.05, 207.85, P = .08) and complete case models (β = 98.66, 95% CI: -25.24, 222.55, P = .099), the TIMP1 relationships remained marginally significant.

Conclusions: Our marginal results support existing veteran morbidity and mortality literature while suggesting a modest utility of epigenetic aging biomarkers for further understanding veteran health. As veterans represent an important subset of the population and are a priority in federal government budgets, future research in this area holds the potential for significant public health and policy impact.

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介绍：服兵役会严重影响人类健康，研究表明退伍军人的死亡率高于普通人群。然而，关于退伍军人身份与可能先于临床疾病和死亡率的衰老生物标志物之间关系的数据却很有限：方法：我们使用调查设计的加权广义线性回归模型，在参加 1999-2000 年和 2001-2002 年周期全国健康与营养调查的 2344 名美国成年人的代表性样本中，研究了自我报告的退伍军人身份与基于 DNA 甲基化（DNAm）的衰老生物标志物（表观遗传年龄）之间的横截面关系。我们测试了 7 个表观遗传衰老标记：我们测试了 7 个表观遗传衰老标记：HannumAge、HorvathAge、SkinBloodAge、PhenoAge、GrimAge2、DNAm 端粒长度（TL）和 DunedinPoAm：在对基本人口统计学特征进行调整后，与非退伍军人相比，退伍军人的 SkinBloodAge（β = 0.86 岁，95% CI：-0.10，1.81，P = .08）和 GrimAge2（β = 0.71 岁，95% CI：-0.07，1.49，P = .07）测量值稍高。在对缺失的健康和生活方式协变量进行估算的完全调整模型中，也观察到了类似的 SkinBloodAge（β = 1.00 岁，95% CI：-0.01，2.00，P = .05）和 GrimAge2（β = 0.69 岁，95% CI：-0.14，1.52，P = .09）关系。与非退伍军人相比，在基本人口统计学调整模型中，退伍军人的 DNAm 估计血液中 GrimAge2 成分血红蛋白 A1c（β = 0.006，95% CI：0.0005，0.01，P = .03）和蛋白质 TIMP1（β = 71.14，95% CI：8.28，134.01，P = .03）水平也较高。在完全调整的估算模型（β = 96.40，95% CI：-15.05，207.85，P = .08）和完整病例模型（β = 98.66，95% CI：-25.24，222.55，P = .099）中，TIMP1 的关系仍然略微显著：我们的边际结果支持现有的退伍军人发病率和死亡率文献，同时表明表观遗传衰老生物标志物在进一步了解退伍军人健康方面的适度效用。由于退伍军人是人口的重要组成部分，也是联邦政府预算的优先考虑对象，因此该领域的未来研究有可能对公共卫生和政策产生重大影响。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Military Medicine MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL-

CiteScore

2.20

自引率

8.30%

发文量

393

审稿时长

4-8 weeks

期刊介绍： Military Medicine is the official international journal of AMSUS. Articles published in the journal are peer-reviewed scientific papers, case reports, and editorials. The journal also publishes letters to the editor. The objective of the journal is to promote awareness of federal medicine by providing a forum for responsible discussion of common ideas and problems relevant to federal healthcare. Its mission is: To increase healthcare education by providing scientific and other information to its readers; to facilitate communication; and to offer a prestige publication for members’ writings.