Economic conditions at birth and later-life DNA methylation age acceleration
Please email LCDS.Office@demography.ox.ac.uk for in person and online attendance
Economic conditions and adversities early in life are known to impact a range of health and cognitive outcomes at high ages. Studies in economics have speculated that the underlying causal pathway involves epigenetic mechanisms affecting gene regulation. We advance on this by identifying causal effects of early-life economic conditions on DNA methylation (DNAm) later in life. Specifically, we examine the extent to which the individual biological age (as predicted by DNAm) deviates from the chronological age. We use the economic business cycle at birth for causal variation in economic conditions early in life. Results based on samples of elderly individuals from five merged UK data sets show strong effects, with unfavourable conditions at birth on average leading to a positive difference between biological and chronological age.
Date: 23 March 2023, 15:30
Venue: Nuffield College, New Road OX1 1NF
Venue Details: Large Lecture Room or online
Speaker: Professor Gerard van den Berg (University of Groningen)
Organising department: Department of Sociology
Organiser: Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: LCDS.Office@demography.ox.ac.uk
Hosts: Bettina Szilvasi (University of Oxford), Prof. Melinda Mills (University of Oxford)
Booking required?: Required
Booking email: LCDS.Office@demography.ox.ac.uk
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Bradley Hall-Smith