Epigenetic Aging and Rheumatoid Arthritis Mukherjee, Nandini; Harrison, Tracie C
The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences,
2024-Jan-01, 2024-01-01, 20240101, Letnik:
79, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
This is the first known comparative assessment of the associations of epigenetic age estimates with the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We used data available in Gene Expression Omnibus ...(GSE42861) from the Swedish Epidemiological Investigation of Rheumatoid Arthritis study. Information regarding RA diagnosis and 450K DNA methylation (DNAm) of 18- to 70-year-old participants was available. Utilizing Horvath's online DNAm Age Calculator, we determined the DNAm estimate of Telomere length (DNAmTL), Hannum's epigenetic age, Horvath's 2013 and 2018 epigenetic ages, PhenoAge, GrimAge, and the respective age-acceleration measures. The association of RA prevalence with epigenetic age measures was assessed using linear regression, adjusting for sex and smoking status. The p values were corrected for multiple testing using a false discovery rate. We identified statistically significant associations of RA with Horvath 2013 age acceleration (estimate: -1.34; FDR p value: 1.0 × 10-2), Horvath 2018 age acceleration (estimate: -1.32; FDR p value: 4.0 × 10-5), extrinsic age acceleration (estimate: 1.34; FDR p value: 1.0 × 10-2), PhenoAge acceleration (estimate: 2.31; FDR p value: 1.1 × 10-5), GrimAge (estimate: 2.54; FDR p value: 1.0 × 10-2), and GrimAge acceleration (estimate: 3.15; FDR p-value: 1.7 × 10-17). Of note, the raw and age-adjusted GrimAge surrogate DNAm protein components were significantly higher in RA cases than controls. Interestingly, the first-generation measures were associated only with women. No sex-specific effects were identified for PhenoAge or GrimAge accelerations. In this cross-sectional assessment, the second-generation clocks show promise as markers of biological aging, with higher epigenetic age acceleration observed in RA cases compared with healthy controls.
Individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders must manage residual symptoms as they age, and they may experience premature or accelerated aging in comparison with those without their diagnosis. ...To explore their life course perspectives, we interviewed institutionalized adults aging with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in middle and older age.
We used an exploratory descriptive design and qualitative methods. Participants answered semistructured, open-ended questions about perceptions of their mental illness along the life course.
Participants (N = 30, age 45-83 years) were from an acute care psychiatric facility and a long-term care facility: 16 (53%) men, 14 (47%) women; 6 (20%) Hispanic, 10 (33%) African American, 14 (47%) non-Hispanic White. Participants' life course included traumas from violence, homelessness, and stigma; psychiatric symptoms such as worry and sadness; and age-related physiological symptoms including illness, loss of strength, falls, and incontinence, with falls and incontinence reported only in long-term care. Aging within institutionalization included lack of privacy and autonomy, and isolation (less socialization). Participants provided insights for potential improvements.
Because these aging adults are experts on their own care, researchers should continue to seek their input to inform their healthcare.
A gap in research about the trajectories of function among men and women aging with functional limitations because of multiple sclerosis (MS) hinders ability to plan for future needs.
Using a ...biopsychosocial model, we characterize how men and women with MS report changes over time in their function and test how person-level differences in age, diagnosis duration, and sex influence perceived function.
A longitudinal study with multiple waves of surveys was used to collect data on participant perceptions of function, as well as demographic and contextual variables. Self-reported functional limitation was measured over a decade. The study participants were community residing with physician-diagnosed MS.
The people with MS had a diagnosis duration of about 13 years and were around 51 years of age, on average, at the start of the study. They were primarily women and non-Hispanic White. We analyzed the data using mixed-effects models. Subject-specific, functional limitation trajectories were described best with a quadratic growth model. Relative to men, women reported lower functional limitation and greater between-person variation and rates of acceleration in functional limitation scores.
Results suggest function progressed through two pathways for over a decade, particularly closer to diagnoses. Variability in trajectories between individuals based on sex and years since diagnosis of disease indicates that men and women with MS may experience perceptions of their function with age differently. This has implications for clinician advice to men and women with MS.
The life-history narratives of 10 Mexican American men with mobility limitations, age 55–77 years (mean = 63.8, SD = 5.8), were explored using a qualitatively driven, life-history mixed-methods study ...to understand perceptions of mobility limitations over the life course. Within that methodological and paradigmatic framework, conceptualizations of alterity and masculinity guided interpretation of data. Through an iterative, thematic analysis, we detail the way the men’s lives were influenced by growing familial responsibility with age. Quantitative data were integrated into themes of narrative inheritance, family, and masculinity. It was posited that masculinity with mobility limitations shaped and was shaped by ethnic identity and responsibility. This has implications for understanding the experience of Mexican American men over the life course.
Health disparities in osteoarthritis (OA) outcomes exist both in the occurrence and treatment of functional limitation and disability for Mexican Americans. Although the effect of self-management of ...chronic illness is well established, studies demonstrate little attention to self-management of function or disability, despite the strong potential effect on both and, consequently, on patients' lives.
The purpose of this study pilot was to develop and test key variable relationships for a measure of disability self-management among Mexican Americans.
In this sequential, two-phased, mixed-methods, biobehavioral pilot study of Mexican American women and men with OA, a culturally tailored measure of disability self-management was created, and initial relationships among key variables were explored.
First, a qualitative study of 19 adults of Mexican American descent born in Texas (United States) or Mexico was conducted. The Mexican American Disability Self-Management Scale was created using a descriptive content analysis of interview data. The scale was tested and refined, resulting in 18 items and a descriptive frequency of therapeutic management efforts. Second, correlations between study variables were estimated: Disability and function were negatively correlated. Disability correlated positively with social support and activity effort. Disability correlated negatively with disability self-management, pain, and C-reactive protein. Function was positively correlated with age, pain, and depression. Liver enzymes (alanine transaminase) correlated positively with pain and anxiety.
This mixed-methods study indicates directions for further testing and interventions for disability outcomes among Mexican Americans.
Introduction: There are 46 million individuals living in rural America that require unique consideration for rural health research. Recruitment of research participants from disparity groups can be ...difficult as these groups can be hard-to-reach. In particular, strategies for reaching rural-dwelling Americans with disabilities are not well-documented. Furthermore, researchers sometimes underestimate the time and effort needed to recruit participants from hard-to-reach populations. The purpose of this article is to report the methods used to recruit 12 rural-dwelling adults with disabilities into a qualitative study. Method: The recruitment strategies discussed in this article were used in a grounded theory study. Results: Fifty percent of the sample in this study was recruited via a community gatekeeper, 33% responded to a classified advertisement, and 17% were recruited via the researchers’ professional networks. Discussion: Lessons learned yield insights as to effective recruitment methods for rural dwellers as well as other hard-to-reach populations.
Through this constructivist grounded theory study, it was our purpose to create a substantive theory to explain how rural-dwelling, working-age adults with disabilities define and pursue well-being. ...Twelve rural-dwelling participants were interviewed up to 3 times to understand the processes involved in defining and pursuing well-being. From this exploration, we suggest that well-being is not a set state to be achieved and then enjoyed, rather well-being results from establishing and maintaining membership in the rural community. Membership facilitated access to the array of material and psychological supports needed for a sense of well-being. Findings support the assumption that urban models of care are insufficient for rural areas. This study also provides an understanding of how individuals in this population mobilize resources to overcome functional limitations and environmental barriers to establish group membership and create a sense of well-being. Implications for health care practice and policy are discussed.
Demand by nursing home residents for involvement in their medical care, or, patient-centered care, is expected to increase as baby boomers begin seeking long-term care for their chronic illnesses. To ...explore the needs in meeting this proposed demand, we used a qualitative descriptive method with content analysis to obtain the joint perspective of key stakeholders on the current state of person-centered medical care in the nursing home. We interviewed 31 nursing home stakeholders: 5 residents, 7 family members, 8 advanced practice registered nurses, 5 physicians, and 6 administrators. Our findings revealed constraints placed by the long-term care system limited medical involvement opportunities and created conflicting goals for patient-centered medical care. Resident participation in medical care was perceived as low, but important. The creation of supportive educational programs for all stakeholders to facilitate a common goal for nursing home admission and to provide assistance through the long-term care system was encouraged.
To explore the trajectories of functional limitations, health behaviors (exercise), and quality of life (QOL) and their interrelations over a 5-year time period in a sample of persons with multiple ...sclerosis (MS).
Descriptive longitudinal survey study.
Southwestern United States.
Convenience sample of 611 people with MS (mean age at time 1, 49.4y). Ninety percent of the participants remained enrolled in the study. Response rates at each annual data collection ranged from 85% to 90% of eligible participants.
Not applicable.
A series of self-report instruments to measure functional limitations, exercise behaviors, and QOL were completed annually over a 5-year period.
Using multivariate latent curve modeling techniques, rates of change in functional limitations correlated negatively with rates of exercise behaviors and QOL ratings. The level of exercise behaviors at time 1 and rate of change in functional limitations were negatively related-suggesting that higher exercise levels at time 1 were related to slower accumulation of functional limitations over time.
Data analysis methods that allow examination of both the individual and group level of change are particularly appropriate when examining trajectories of change in persons with MS because of the highly individualized progression and presentation of the disease. Findings of this descriptive longitudinal study support the potential positive impact of exercise on the long-term progression of functional limitation and QOL for persons with MS.
Attention has recently been given to the role of race in many aspects of the research process; however, minimal has been written to critique the role of race in qualitative fieldnotes. This gap ...creates potential conflicts about representation that can exclude marginalized communities and call into question findings when race is ignored in the research process. To successfully address potential investigator biases with a lens towards social justice and equity in healthcare, a critique of foundational methods is required. Here we posit that a qualitative health researchers’ primary tool is their fieldnotes because they contextualize findings and serve as a method to learn through systematic interpretation of local meanings revealed by participants. Here, we provide researchers guidance for teaching and writing fieldnotes that speak to current nuances of observations and interactions with participants. Definitions related to race and ethnicity, the importance of applying appropriate sensitizing frameworks, followed by a discussion of how to use fieldnotes in findings are covered. We include (1) a call for more preparation of novice researchers and a challenge for established researchers to update expertise for collecting and using fieldnotes in the research process, (2) guidance on negotiating difficult situations, and (3) the significance of language in creating credibility in findings when addressing race in qualitative research.
PDF
