RESUMEN
Background and Objectives: Methylation profile scores (MPSs) index biological aging and aging-related disease in adults and are cross-sectionally associated with social determinants of health in childhood. MPSs thus provide an opportunity to trace how aging-related biology responds to environmental changes in early life. Information regarding the stability of MPSs in early life is currently lacking. Method: We use longitudinal data from children and adolescents ages 8-18 (N = 428, M age = 12.15 years) from the Texas Twin Project. Participants contributed two waves of salivary DNA-methylation data (mean lag = 3.94 years), which were used to construct four MPSs reflecting multi-system physiological decline and mortality risk (PhenoAgeAccel and GrimAgeAccel), pace of biological aging (DunedinPACE), and cognitive function (Epigenetic-g). Furthermore, we exploit variation among participants in whether they were exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic during the course of study participation, in order to test how a historical period characterized by environmental disruption might affect children's aging-related MPSs. Results: All MPSs showed moderate longitudinal stability (test-retest rs = 0.42, 0.44, 0.46, 0.51 for PhenoAgeAccel, GrimAgeAccel, and Epigenetic-g, and DunedinPACE, respectively). No differences in the stability of MPSs were apparent between those whose second assessment took place after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic vs. those for whom both assessments took place prior to the pandemic. Conclusions: Aging-related DNA-methylation patterns are less stable in childhood than has been previously observed in adulthood. Further developmental research on the methylome is necessary to understand which environmental perturbations in childhood impact trajectories of biological aging and when children are most sensitive to those impacts.
RESUMEN
Childhood adversity has been associated with myriad physical, emotional, and mental health symptoms across the lifespan, including higher risk for substance abuse, depression, suicidal ideation, and premature mortality. The current study evaluates the association between cumulative adverse childhood experiences and mental health distress at admission and discharge in an adolescent partial hospital program. Data were collected from 157 adolescents through clinical assessments administered during admission and discharge procedures (Youth Outcomes Questionnaire Self-Report (YOQ-SR), Treatment Support Measure (TSM), and Center for Youth Wellness Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire Teen (CYW ACE-Q Teen)). Regression analyses were conducted to assess how cumulative ACEs predict admission mental health distress (Intrapersonal Distress, Critical Items, and Total Score) as well as mental health distress at discharge, above and beyond other clinically relevant factors. While ACEs significantly predicted overall distress at admission (p = .026), there were no other significant associations between ACEs and outcomes at admission, nor ACEs and any outcomes at discharge. This suggests experiences of adversity may not hinder or influence outcomes over the course of treatment in this setting. Experiences of adversity were highly endorsed in this sample; thus, further understanding of experiences of trauma and resilience in acute treatment settings is a critical area for future research to improve interventions for adolescents.
