ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2022
Do Epigenetic Clocks Provide Explanations for Sex Differences in Life Span? A Cross-Sectional Twin Study.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Accelerated epigenetic age in hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Hypertension research : official journal of the Japanese Society of Hypertension · 2026Pooled it
- Physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleep quality and the biological aging clocks.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Associations between diet quality, epigenetic aging and epigenome in two population-based cohorts.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Age- and sex-specific reference values for phosphate homeostasis parameters-fibroblast growth factor 23 and soluble Klotho.Clinical kidney journal · 2026Article
- Twenty-Four-Hour Rest-Activity Rhythms and Epigenetic Age Acceleration in Middle-Aged and Older Adults.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Review
- Associations of Epigenetic Age Acceleration with Motor Impairment: Evidence from the PPMI Cohort.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Epigenetic signatures, age acceleration, and injury risk in elite female and male soccer players.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Spine age estimation using deep learning in lateral spine radiographs and DXA VFA to predict incident fracture and mortality.npj aging · 2025Article
- Differential contributions of cardiovascular health-related lifestyle factors to epigenetic ageing: implications for healthy longevity.BMC medicine · 2025Article
- Cultural mismatch and accelerated epigenetic age during the transition to college.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Article
- Cell-Type-Specific Autophagy in Human Leukocytes.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2025Article
- A Sex-Specific Minimal CpG-Based Model for Biological Aging UsingInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Adolescent empathy and epigenetic aging in adulthood: Substance use as a mediator.Developmental psychology · 2025Article
- Sex and education differences in trajectories of physiological ageing: longitudinal analysis of a prospective English cohort study.Age and ageing · 2025Article
- Sleep Duration Polygenic Risk and Phenotype: Associations with Biomarkers of Accelerated Aging in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.International journal of aging & human development · 2025Article
- DNA methylation-based age prediction and sex-specific epigenetic aging in a lizard with female-biased longevity.Science advances · 2025Article
- Review
- Sex and education differences in trajectories of physiological ageing: longitudinal analysis of a prospective English cohort study.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Epigenetic regulation of bladder cancer in the context of aging.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe sex gap in life expectancy has been narrowing in Finland over the past 4-5 decades; however, on average, women still live longer than men. Epigenetic clocks are markers for biological aging which predict life span. In this study, we examined the mediating role of lifestyle factors on the association between sex and biological aging in younger and older adults.
methodsOur sample consists of younger and older twins (21‒42 years, n = 1 477; 50‒76 years, n = 763) including 151 complete younger opposite-sex twin pairs (21‒30 years). Blood-based DNA methylation was used to compute epigenetic age acceleration by 4 epigenetic clocks as a measure of biological aging. Path modeling was used to study whether the association between sex and biological aging is mediated through lifestyle-related factors, that is, education, body mass index, smoking, alcohol use, and physical activity.
resultsIn comparison to women, men were biologically older and, in general, they had unhealthier life habits. The effect of sex on biological aging was partly mediated by body mass index and, in older twins, by smoking. Sex was directly associated with biological aging and the association was stronger in older twins.
conclusionsPreviously reported sex differences in life span are also evident in biological aging. Declining smoking prevalence among men is a plausible explanation for the narrowing of the difference in life expectancy between the sexes. Data generated by the epigenetic clocks may help in estimating the effects of lifestyle and environmental factors on aging and in predicting aging in future generations.
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