ArticleGenes2026
The Epigenetic Fingerprint of Lifestyle: Smoking, Vaping, and Exercise Revealed Through Buccal DNA Methylation.
Article in Genes, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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5 authors.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectivesLifestyle behaviors such as smoking, vaping, and physical activity can induce epigenetic modifications that influence health trajectories and may provide forensic value. DNA methylation signatures linked to these behaviors offer potential for behavioral inference, personalized health assessment, and improved investigative practices. This study aimed to characterize methylation patterns associated with nicotine exposure and exercise using buccal cell DNA profiling, and to evaluate the extent to which these patterns differentiate harmful and protective lifestyle habits.
methodsBuccal epithelial DNA was analyzed using the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC v2 BeadChip to assess genome-wide methylation. Participants were categorized by smoking status, vaping behavior, and exercise activity. Differentially methylated regions (DMRs) and CpG sites were identified through pairwise comparisons among smokers, vapers, non-smokers/non-vapers, athletes, and sedentary individuals. A threshold of
resultsDistinct epigenetic profiles were associated with smoking/vaping and physical activity. Five DMRs differentiated smokers from non-smokers/non vapers, while 11 DMRs distinguished vapers from the same reference group. Twenty-eight DMRs displayed divergent methylation patterns between smokers and vapers. Exercise also showed measurable epigenetic influence: control athletes exhibited 26 significantly differentially methylated CpG sites relative to non-athletes, and smoker athletes demonstrated 126 suggestive differential sites compared to sedentary smokers. Additionally, 63 sites differentiated smoker athletes from non-smoker/non-vaper non-athletes, indicating interactions between risk-associated and health-promoting behaviors.
conclusionsBuccal cell DNA methylation profiling effectively captured signatures associated with smoking, vaping, and physical activity. These findings underscore the potential of epigenetic markers for lifestyle assessment in both personalized medicine and forensic investigations.
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