Journal article
Maternal childhood adversity accelerates epigenetic aging of children
Health psychology, v 44(5), pp 479-488
May 2025
PMID: 40232783
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Although early adversity is strongly related to lifelong health disparities, it is unclear how adversity might confer risk across generations. To investigate, we tested the hypothesis that mothers' childhood adversity was associated with their epigenetic aging and that of their children and examined whether associations differed for Black and White mothers.
Dyads (N = 215) of mothers (52% White, 48% Black, Mage = 39.2, SD = 1.1) and children (N = 215, 55% female, Mage = 8.3, SD = 4.0, range 2-17) provided saliva samples to assay the Horvath clock and pace of aging calculated from the epigenome epigenetic aging measures. Linear regressions were used to estimate the associations of maternal early adversity measures with the outcomes of maternal and child Horvath clock epigenetic age, as moderated by race.
For Black, but not White mothers, any abuse before age 13, b = 0.81, p = .007, physical abuse before age 18, b = 1.69, p = .001, and sexual abuse before age 18, b = 1.17, p = .02, were associated with significantly greater Horvath age acceleration in their children. In contrast, there was no relation between maternal childhood adversity and mothers' epigenetic aging, and no significant findings for the pace of aging calculated from the epigenome.
Maternal childhood adversity appears to have a greater effect on the epigenetic aging of the children of Black mothers. The effects of systemic racism on Black Americans may interact with maternal childhood adversity to confer additional risk for Black children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
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Details
- Title
- Maternal childhood adversity accelerates epigenetic aging of children
- Creators
- Elissa J Hamlat - University of California, San FranciscoStefanie E Mayer - University of California, San FranciscoBarbara Laraia - University of California, BerkeleyTerrie E Moffitt - Duke UniversityAgus Surachman - Drexel UniversityEthan G Dutcher - University of California, San FranciscoJoshua Zhang - University of California, Los AngelesAke T Lu - University of California, Los AngelesTony T Yang - University of California, San FranciscoMeital Mashash - University of California, San FranciscoGeorge M Slavich - Neurobehavioral SystemsElissa S Epel - University of California, San Francisco
- Publication Details
- Health psychology, v 44(5), pp 479-488
- Publisher
- AMER PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC; WASHINGTON
- Number of pages
- 10
- Grant note
- Lisa Stone Pritzker Family Foundation National Institute of Child Health and Human Development University of California, San Francisco R01 AG059677 / NIA NIH HHS T32 AT003997 / NCCIH NIH HHS R01 HD073568 / NICHD NIH HHS California Governor's Office of Planning and Research/California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine R00 AG062778 / NIA NIH HHS
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Drexel FIRST (Center for Firefighter Injury Research and Safety Trends); Dana and David Dornsife School of Public Health; Epidemiology and Biostatistics
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001466473600014
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105003620888
- Other Identifier
- 991022048295704721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Psychology
- Psychology, Clinical