Pubertal Timing in Relation to Epigenetic Aging and Mortality Risk in Young Adulthood

Authors

• Marlon Goering, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Advisor(s)

Sylvie Mrug

Committee Member(s)

Christopher Henrich
Despina Stavrinos
Elizabeth Baker
Hemant Tiwari

School

College of Arts and Sciences

Document Type

Dissertation

Department (new version)

Psychology

Date of Award

9-9-2024

Abstract

Early pubertal timing is associated with adverse health outcomes in adulthood, which may be mediated by DNA methylation-based epigenetic changes associated with accelerated aging and mortality risk. However, only few studies examined links between pubertal timing and epigenetic aging and these focused mainly on females, relied on retrospective reports of single pubertal events, and did not examine protective factors and underlying mechanisms. Thus, this dissertation examined two distinct dimensions of pubertal timing (i.e., phenotypical pubertal timing relative to age and self-perceived pubertal timing relative to peers) in relation to subsequent epigenetic aging and mortality risk in adulthood together with sex differences in these effects (Paper 1). Moreover, it was examined whether parental nurturance or school connectedness moderate (Paper 2), and if health behaviors such as substance use, sleep duration, and diet quality mediate these links (Paper 3). Papers 1 and 2 analyzed data from the Birmingham Youth Violence Study (N = 350, 58% female, 42% male, 80% Black, 19% Non-Hispanic White) and Paper 3 involved participants from the Healthy Passages Study (N = 1,213 adolescents, 51% female, 49% male; 62% Black, 34% White; 4% Other). Early phenotypical and early perceived pubertal timing were associated with subsequent accelerated epigenetic aging and higher epigenetic mortality risk in both male and female youth (Paper 1). The links between early pubertal timing and accelerated epigenetic aging were similar when assessing epigenetic aging during young adulthood (Paper 1 and 2) and late adolescence (Paper 3) and thus replicated across these two separate samples. Neither school connectedness nor parental nurturance buffered the observed effects of early pubertal timing on epigenetic aging and mortality risk (Paper 2). Ultimately, the effect of early phenotypical pubertal timing on accelerated GrimAge was mediated by higher levels of substance use during middle adolescence (Paper 3). This dissertation provides novel insights by identifying phenotypical and perceived early pubertal timing as risk factors for epigenetic aging and mortality risk in diverse male and female youth and by pointing to increased substance use during adolescence as a mechanism explaining links between early phenotypical pubertal timing and subsequent accelerated epigenetic aging.

ProQuest ID

https://proquest.com/docview/3101974290