ArticleGenome biology2015
Lifetime stress accelerates epigenetic aging in an urban, African American cohort: relevance of glucocorticoid signaling.
Article in Genome biology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 275 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
275 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 472 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of adverse childhood experiences on DNA methylation age: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical epigenetics · 2026Pooled it
- Epigenetic effects of endogenous and exogenous glucocorticosteroids during pregnancy on the offspring: a systematic-narrative review.Hormones (Athens, Greece) · 2025Pooled it
- Increased somatic mosaicism in autosomal and X chromosomes for suicide death.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Decoding depression: a comprehensive multi-cohort exploration of blood DNA methylation using machine learning and deep learning approaches.Translational psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Using Epigenetic Clocks to Characterize Biological Aging in Studies of Children and Childhood Exposures: a Systematic Review.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2023Pooled it
- DNA methylation signatures of aggression and closely related constructs: A meta-analysis of epigenome-wide studies across the lifespan.Molecular psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- A systematic review of childhood maltreatment and DNA methylation: candidate gene and epigenome-wide approaches.Translational psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Environmental, Lifestyle, and Health Factors Associated With DNA Methylation Age.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2020Pooled it
- Trial
- Epigenetic Clocks Can Predict Age in the Largemouth Bass-Complex Despite Spatial and Sexual Variation.Evolutionary applications · 2026Article
- Neighborhood disadvantage and accelerated epigenetic aging in the early aftermath of trauma: The moderating role of individual psychological resources.Journal of psychiatric research · 2026Article
- Epigenetic modulation of prostate cancer disparities in men with African ancestry.Nature reviews. Urology · 2026Review
- Post-traumatic stress disorder.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2026Review
- Body mass index, physical activity, and epigenetic aging: a cross-population study.Clinical epigenetics · 2026Observational
- Cardiomyocyte-Specific Plakophilin-2 Loss Is Sufficient to Induce Aging and Senescence of Nonmyocytes: Relevance to Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2026Article
- 'Glucocorticoids, Cushing's syndrome and cellular senescence: a mechanistic link to metabolic ageing'.Endocrine connections · 2026Review
- Genome-Wide DNA Methylation Patterns Predict Age in the Zebra Shark (Stegostoma tigrinum) and Provide Insight Into the Evolution of Vertebrate Aging.Molecular ecology · 2026Article
- Lifestyle factors and DNA methylation-based aging clocks: cross-sectional and longitudinal associations in the Singapore diet and healthy aging cohort.The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease · 2026Article
- Mental health across the lifecourse as predictors of epigenetic aging from a longitudinal birth cohort in the United States.Journal of affective disorders · 2026Article
- The Molecular Exposome of Visible Age Reversal: From Organ-Skin Axes to Regenerative Aesthetics.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
215 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
18 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundChronic psychological stress is associated with accelerated aging and increased risk for aging-related diseases, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear.
resultsWe examined the effect of lifetime stressors on a DNA methylation-based age predictor, epigenetic clock. After controlling for blood cell-type composition and lifestyle parameters, cumulative lifetime stress, but not childhood maltreatment or current stress alone, predicted accelerated epigenetic aging in an urban, African American cohort (n = 392). This effect was primarily driven by personal life stressors, was more pronounced with advancing age, and was blunted in individuals with higher childhood abuse exposure. Hypothesizing that these epigenetic effects could be mediated by glucocorticoid signaling, we found that a high number (n = 85) of epigenetic clock CpG sites were located within glucocorticoid response elements. We further examined the functional effects of glucocorticoids on epigenetic clock CpGs in an independent sample with genome-wide DNA methylation (n = 124) and gene expression data (n = 297) before and after exposure to the glucocorticoid receptor agonist dexamethasone. Dexamethasone induced dynamic changes in methylation in 31.2 % (110/353) of these CpGs and transcription in 81.7 % (139/170) of genes neighboring epigenetic clock CpGs. Disease enrichment analysis of these dexamethasone-regulated genes showed enriched association for aging-related diseases, including coronary artery disease, arteriosclerosis, and leukemias.
conclusionsCumulative lifetime stress may accelerate epigenetic aging, an effect that could be driven by glucocorticoid-induced epigenetic changes. These findings contribute to our understanding of mechanisms linking chronic stress with accelerated aging and heightened disease risk.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.