Epigenetic Aging and Immune Senescence in Women With Insomnia Symptoms: Findings From the Women’s Health Initiative Study

• Published in: Biological psychiatry (1969) Vol. 81; no. 2; pp. 136 - 144
• Main Authors: Carroll, Judith E, Irwin, Michael R, Levine, Morgan, Seeman, Teresa E, Absher, Devin, Assimes, Themistocles, Horvath, Steve
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 15.01.2017
• Subjects: Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Cross-Sectional Studies; DNA Methylation; Epigenesis, Genetic; Epigenetic; Female; Humans; Immunosenescence; Insomnia; Methylation; Middle Aged; Psychiatry; Sleep; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders - blood; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders - genetics; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders - immunology; T-Lymphocytes - physiology; United States; Women's Health; Aging; Immunosenescence; Sleep; Epigenetic; Methylation; Insomnia
• ISSN: 0006-3223; 1873-2402
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.07.008

Abstract Background Insomnia symptoms are associated with vulnerability to age-related morbidity and mortality. Cross-sectional data suggest that accelerated biological aging may be a mechanism through which sleep influences risk. A novel method for determining age acceleration using epigenetic methylation to DNA has demonstrated predictive utility as an epigenetic clock and prognostic of age-related morbidity and mortality. Methods We examined the association of epigenetic age and immune cell aging with sleep in the Women’s Health Initiative study ( N = 2078; mean 64.5 ± 7.1 years of age) with assessment of insomnia symptoms (restlessness, difficulty falling asleep, waking at night, trouble getting back to sleep, and early awakenings), sleep duration (short sleep 5 hours or less; long sleep greater than 8 hours), epigenetic age, naive T cell (CD8+CD45RA+CCR7+), and late differentiated T cells (CD8+CD28–CD45RA–). Results Insomnia symptoms were related to advanced epigenetic age ( β ± SE = 1.02 ± 0.37, p = .005) after adjustments for covariates. Insomnia symptoms were also associated with more late differentiated T cells ( β ± SE = 0.59 ± 0.21, p = .006), but not with naive T cells. Self-reported short and long sleep duration were unrelated to epigenetic age. Short sleep, but not long sleep, was associated with fewer naive T cells ( p < .005) and neither was related to late differentiated T cells. Conclusions Symptoms of insomnia were associated with increased epigenetic age of blood tissue and were associated with higher counts of late differentiated CD8+ T cells. Short sleep was unrelated to epigenetic age and late differentiated cell counts, but was related to a decline in naive T cells. In this large population-based study of women in the United States, insomnia symptoms are implicated in accelerated aging.