Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38276909›Full record

ArticleAlcohol, clinical & experimental research2024

Biological aging markers in blood and brain tissue indicate age acceleration in alcohol use disorder.

Lea Zillich, Metin Cetin, Elisabeth M Hummel, Eric Poisel, Gabriel R Fries, Josef Frank, Fabian Streit, Jerome C Foo, Lea Sirignano, Marion M Friske and 16 more

Open access · hybridAbstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Alcohol, clinical & experimental research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Adolescent Alcohol and the Spectrum of Cognitive Dysfunction in Aging.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2025
    Review
  7. Review
  8. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

26 authors at 10 institutions in 5 countries.

Lea ZillichDepartment of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7457-374X
Metin CetinDepartment of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Elisabeth M HummelDepartment of Genetic Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Eric PoiselDepartment of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Gabriel R FriesLouis A. Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
Josef FrankDepartment of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Fabian StreitDepartment of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Jerome C FooDepartment of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1067-5725
Lea SirignanoDepartment of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Marion M FriskeInstitute of Psychopharmacology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3334-2555
Bernd LenzDepartment of Addictive Behavior and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6086-0924
Sabine HoffmannDepartment of Addictive Behavior and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Kristina AdorjanDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Falk KieferDepartment of Addictive Behavior and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Georgy BakalkinDepartment of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Anita C HanssonInstitute of Psychopharmacology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Falk W LohoffSection on Clinical Genomics and Experimental Therapeutics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0480-7755
Olli KärkkäinenSchool of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0825-4956
Eloise KokDepartment of Pathology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Pekka J KarhunenFaculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0320-571X
Greg T SutherlandCharles Perkins Centre and School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Consuelo Walss-BassLouis A. Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
Rainer SpanagelInstitute of Psychopharmacology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Marcella RietschelDepartment of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Dirk A MoserDepartment of Genetic Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Stephanie H WittDepartment of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Heidelberg University · DENational Institutes of Health · USRuhr University Bochum · DEThe University of Texas Health Science Center · USLudwig-Maximilians-Universität München · DETampere University · FIThe University of Sydney · AUUniversity of Eastern Finland · FIUniversity of Helsinki · FIUppsala University · SE

Funding

Clinical Genomics and Experimental TherapeuticsZIAAA000242 · NIAAA · NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM · PI LOHOFF, FALK · 2015 to 2025
$26.7M
Brain Tissue Resource Centre for Alcohol ResearchR28AA012725 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY · PI Greg Trevor Sutherland · 2012 to 2026
$7.0M
Intramural NIH HHS ZIA AA000242NIAAA NIH HHS R28 AA012725
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlcohol use disorder (AUD) is associated with increased mortality and morbidity risk. A reason for this could be accelerated biological aging, which is strongly influenced by disease processes such as inflammation. As recent studies of AUD show changes in DNA methylation and gene expression in neuroinflammation-related pathways in the brain, biological aging represents a potentially important construct for understanding the adverse effects of substance use disorders. Epigenetic clocks have shown accelerated aging in blood samples from individuals with AUD. However, no systematic evaluation of biological age measures in AUD across different tissues and brain regions has been undertaken.

methodsAs markers of biological aging (BioAge markers), we assessed Levine's and Horvath's epigenetic clocks, DNA methylation telomere length (DNAmTL), telomere length (TL), and mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) in postmortem brain samples from Brodmann Area 9 (BA9), caudate nucleus, and ventral striatum (N = 63-94), and in whole blood samples (N = 179) of individuals with and without AUD. To evaluate the association between AUD status and BioAge markers, we performed linear regression analyses while adjusting for covariates.

resultsThe majority of BioAge markers were significantly associated with chronological age in all samples. Levine's epigenetic clock and DNAmTL were indicative of accelerated biological aging in AUD in BA9 and whole blood samples, while Horvath's showed the opposite effect in BA9. No significant association of AUD with TL and mtDNAcn was detected. Measured TL and DNAmTL showed only small correlations in blood and none in brain.

conclusionsThe present study is the first to simultaneously investigate epigenetic clocks, telomere length, and mtDNAcn in postmortem brain and whole blood samples in individuals with AUD. We found evidence for accelerated biological aging in AUD in blood and brain, as measured by Levine's epigenetic clock, and DNAmTL. Additional studies of different tissues from the same individuals are needed to draw valid conclusions about the congruence of biological aging in blood and brain.

Indexed as

alcohol use disorderbiological agingcopy numbers of mitochondrial DNAepigenetic clockstelomere length

Identifiers

PMID38276909
PMCPMC10922212
OpenAlexW4391263767

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.