Associations of epigenetic aging with self-rated health, access to care, and healthcare utilization in a representative sample of United States adults.

Jamaji C Nwanaji-Enwerem, Dennis Khodasevich, Nicole Gladish, Hanyang Shen, Anne K Bozack, Saher Daredia, Belinda L Needham, David H Rehkopf, Andres Cardenas

Department of Emergency Medicine, Center for Health Justice, and Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, HUP, Ground Ravdin, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA. [email protected] of Emergency Medicine, Center for Health Justice, and Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, HUP, Ground Ravdin, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA. [email protected]. · pubmed

Paper

Abstract

Health status is closely linked to both healthcare access and utilization. While previous research has identified associations between health status and DNA methylation-based biomarkers of aging (epigenetic aging), studies exploring these relationships in the context of healthcare access and utilization remain limited. To address this gap, we analyzed cross-sectional associations in a representative sample of 2,343 U.S. adults from the 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Our study examined the relationships of self-rated health status, healthcare access, and healthcare utilization with seven epigenetic aging biomarkers: HannumAge, HorvathAge, SkinBloodAge, PhenoAge, GrimAge2, DNAm Telomere Length (DNAmTL), and DunedinPoAm.

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Research summary

The paper claims that there are associations between epigenetic aging biomarkers and self-rated health, healthcare access, and utilization. This research is relevant as it explores the connections between biological aging markers and health outcomes, which can inform strategies for improving health in aging populations.

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