Severe drought exposure in utero associates to children's epigenetic age acceleration in a global climate change hot spot

Xi Qiao; Bilinda Straight; Duy Ngo; Charles E Hilton; Charles Owuor Olungah; Amy Naugle; Claudia Lalancette; Belinda L Needham

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-48426-7

Severe drought exposure in utero associates to children's epigenetic age acceleration in a global climate change hot spot

Nat Commun. 2024 May 16;15(1):4140. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-48426-7.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Statistics, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA.
² School of Environment, Geography, & Sustainability, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA. bilinda.straight@wmich.edu.
³ Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
⁴ Department of Anthropology, Gender and African Studies, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.
⁵ Department of Psychology, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA.
⁶ Epigenomics Core, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
⁷ Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

The goal of this study is to examine the association between in utero drought exposure and epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) in a global climate change hot spot. Calculations of EAA in adults using DNA methylation have been found to accurately predict chronic disease and longevity. However, fewer studies have examined EAA in children, and drought exposure in utero has not been investigated. Additionally, studies of EAA in low-income countries with diverse populations are rare. We assess EAA using epigenetic clocks and two DNAm-based pace-of-aging measurements from whole saliva samples in 104 drought-exposed children and 109 same-sex sibling controls in northern Kenya. We find a positive association between in utero drought exposure and EAA in two epigenetic clocks (Hannum's and GrimAge) and a negative association in the DNAm based telomere length (DNAmTL) clock. The combined impact of drought's multiple deleterious stressors may reduce overall life expectancy through accelerated epigenetic aging.

MeSH terms

Aging / genetics
Child
Child, Preschool
Climate Change*
DNA Methylation*
Droughts*
Epigenesis, Genetic*
Female
Humans
Kenya
Male
Pregnancy
Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects* / genetics
Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects* / metabolism
Saliva / metabolism

Grants and funding

1728743/NSF | Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences | Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (Behavioral & Cognitive Sciences)