Cited by 173Sleep and related disordersEpigenetics and DNA MethylationCircadian rhythm and melatonin

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

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Carroll, Judith E., Irwin, Michael R., Levine, Morgan, Seeman, Teresa E., Absher, Devin, Assimes, Themistocles, Horvath, Steve·2017·Biological Psychiatry

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.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.07.008

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  • Some studies reported an association of cytokines and other inflammatory proteins with short sleep duration, generally defined as <5 or 6 h compared with a reference range of 7-8 h.

    “some studies reported an association of these markers with short sleep duration, generally defined as <5 or 6 h of sleep compared with a reference range of 7–8 h of sleep”

    From The Sleep-Immune Crosstalk in Health and Disease (2019) · cites this paper as [92]

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Authors
Carroll, J. E., Irwin, M. R., Levine, M., Seeman, T. E., Absher, D., Assimes, T., & Horvath, S.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
  • HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology (US)
  • Stanford University (US)
Corresponding author
Carroll, Judith E.
Venue
Biological Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2017-01
Volume
81
Issue
2
Pages
136-144
ISSN
0006-3223 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2479582436
Cited by
173
References
76
Citations by year
2026: 21 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 5
FWCI
19.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Biological Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • University of California, Los Angeles
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHSN268201100046C, HHSN268201600001C, HHSN268201600002C, HHSN268201600003C, HHSN268201600004C, HHSN271201100004C)
  • Norman Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01 DA032922)
  • National Institute on Aging (5R01AG042511–02, K01 AG044462, R01 AG026364, R01 AG034588)
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (60442456 BAA23, P30 AG017265, R01 HL095799-01, R24AG037898)
  • National Cancer Institute (R01 CA160245)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
Keywords
insomnia symptoms, epigenetic aging, immunosenescence, DNA methylation clocks, accelerated biological aging, naive T cells, CD8+ T cells, sleep duration, short sleep duration, long sleep, women's health
MeSH terms
Immunosenescence, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders, Middle Aged, T-Lymphocytes, United States, Women's Health, DNA Methylation, Epigenesis, Genetic

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