Epigenetic aging has emerged as a significant biological pathway that connects neighborhood environments to health outcomes. Despite its importance, limited research has been conducted to investigate how neighborhood resources affect epigenetic aging. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the relationship between neighborhood amenities, health services, built infrastructure, and epigenetic aging.
The research utilized data from 3,786 participants in the Health and Retirement Study, specifically from the 2016 Venus Blood Study. Epigenetic aging was assessed using various epigenetic clocks, including Horvath, Hannum, PhenoAge, GrimAge2, and DunedinPACE. These measures were linked to 13 Census-tract indicators that reflect the availability of local amenities, health services, and built infrastructure, sourced from the National Neighborhood Data Archive.
Results
The findings revealed that greater availability of neighborhood amenities, health services, and built infrastructure was associated with slower epigenetic age acceleration. Notably, these significant relationships were primarily observed with the Horvath and Hannum clocks. Furthermore, the study indicated that the associations were consistent across different demographic groups, including sex, race, and ethnicity.
Additionally, the research highlighted that built infrastructure had an indirect association with slower epigenetic age acceleration, as measured by PhenoAge, GrimAge2, and DunedinPACE. This indirect effect was attributed to increased physical activity resulting from better infrastructure.
Conclusion
The results suggest that enhancing the availability of local resources may contribute to slowing down epigenetic aging. Given the implications of decelerated biological aging on reducing morbidity and mortality risks, the authors propose that place-based interventions aimed at improving local amenities, health services, and infrastructure could be a promising strategy for promoting healthy aging.
What this study does not show
This study does not establish a direct causal relationship between neighborhood resources and epigenetic aging, nor does it provide evidence of specific health outcomes resulting from these associations.
Evidence scorecard
- Analytic validity: Established
- Clinical validity: Not established
- Clinical utility: Not established
The evidence is based on primary research involving human participants.