DNA Methylation in Context

Evidence indicates stark racial inequities in exposure to historically and currently segregated, under-resourced but over-surveilled and polluted neighborhoods. Chemical stressors (e.g., air pollution) and nonchemical stressors (i.e., social context; e.g., neighborhood poverty) may operate together in complex ways to result in racial health inequities. A growing literature points to the importance of epigenetic factors, particularly DNA methylation (DNAm), linking socioenvironmental context to health. Epigenetic processes may be an important mechanism through which inequities in context are embodied. Our objective is to identify DNAm mechanisms linking historical and contemporary social context and ambient and industrial air pollution to healthy aging. We will capitalize on the separate work by our team members to integrate ~30 years of chemical and nonchemical exposure data and historical social context data into the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), with its blood DNAm data.

Aim 1: Document the association between historical and contemporary social context and DNAm patterns, particularly DNA methylation clocks
Aim 2: Document the association between ambient and industrial air pollution and DNAm patterns
Aim 3: Document the interactive association between social context and air pollution and DNAm patterns
Aim 4: Document the association between DNAm patterns and health

We will use mixed models to clarify the link between social and environmental exposures and DNA methylation patterns and then DNA methylation patterns to cognition and other indicators of aging health.

Evidence indicates stark racial inequities in exposure to historically and currently segregated, under-resourced but over-surveilled and polluted neighborhoods. Social context, like segregation, and air pollution may operate together in complex ways to result in racial health inequities. We will examine these social and environmental factors in relation to molecular epigenetic markers that might capture the mechanisms that link our social and physical environment to health.