4 Topic Commentaries

Is childhood maltreatment tied to epigenetic aging?

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  Katie A. McLaughlin, PhD

  Clinical psychology; developmental psychopathology; childhood adversity

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  Harvard University, Department of Psychology

  Exposure to violence in childhood accelerates biological aging in children as young as 8 years old.

  Source
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  Jennifer Stevens, PhD

  Psychiatry; trauma and stress neurobiology; behavioral neuroscience

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  Emory University School of Medicine

  In addition, childhood trauma can leave epigenetic marks (chemical modification of DNA), which can change whether certain genes will be expressed in a way that reflects faster aging.

  Source
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  Elissa J. Hamlat, PhD

  Clinical psychology; stress, development, and biological aging

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  University of California, San Francisco

  Trauma in childhood appears to age immune cells at a more rapid pace. This could be one reason why individuals who experience more adversity in early life are more likely to have serious mental and physical health problems as adults.

  Source
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  Olivia D. Chang, PhD student

  Social epigenomics; population health; child development

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  University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research

  Notably, we found that physical and emotional abuse were linked to alterations in epigenetic age, often whether it was experienced at age three, five, or accumulated at both ages. Other types of maltreatment, such as types of neglect, appear to be more developmentally sensitive in terms of its linkage to epigenetic changes.

  Source