Recent research has explored the relationship between substance use and biological aging, specifically focusing on epigenetic age acceleration. This study, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, analyzed data from 2,276 adults participating in the Person-to-Person Health Interview Study in Indiana. The researchers aimed to determine whether clinically significant alcohol use, nicotine consumption, opioid use, and overall substance use disorder (SUD) severity were associated with accelerated biological aging.
Methods
Participants in the study completed validated assessments of SUD severity and substance use, including alcohol, nicotine, and opioids. They also provided saliva samples for DNA methylation profiling, which were used to measure biological aging through two specific metrics: AgeAccelGrim2 and DunedinPACE. Regression models were employed to estimate the associations between various substance use indicators and biological aging, while adjusting for potential covariates.
Results
The findings revealed that binary measures of illicit opioid use and non-prescription opioid use were positively associated with both AgeAccelGrim2 and DunedinPACE. Specifically, illicit opioid use showed a strong association (β=0.417, p=5.913e-11), while non-prescription opioid use also indicated significant links (β=0.264, p=1.744e-09). Additionally, a continuous measure of SUD severity was positively correlated with biological aging metrics (β=0.061, p=6.608e-06).
Clinically significant alcohol use was positively associated with AgeAccelGrim2 (β=0.177, p=2.111e-08) but did not show a significant relationship with DunedinPACE. Cigarette smoking was consistently linked to accelerated biological aging across all levels of use, while hookah use exhibited a negative association with AgeAccelGrim2. Interestingly, vaping did not demonstrate any significant association with biological aging when analyzed alongside cigarette smoking.
Conclusions
The study concludes that substance use, particularly cigarette smoking and opioid use, is strongly linked to accelerated biological aging. These findings highlight the importance of further research into the mechanisms that may connect opioid use and vaping to biological aging processes.
What this study does not show
This study does not establish causation between substance use and epigenetic age acceleration, nor does it provide insights into the long-term health outcomes related to these associations.
Evidence scorecard
- Analytic validity: established
- Clinical validity: not established
- Clinical utility: not established