Calendar of events

Title: Epigenetic Aging in Very Preterm-Born Children: Current Knowledge and Upcoming Developments from the Bavarian Longitudinal Study

Abstract: Epigenetic Aging (EA) is a measure of aging that estimates the degree of deterioration of an individual based on changes in their DNA. Individuals may experience increased (a.k.a. accelerated) Epigenetic Aging when exposed to high levels of stress (e.g., due to early-life adversity, adverse pregnancy outcomes such as prematurity, or disease), due to genetic and hereditary factors, or because of lifestyle choices (for instance, smoking). In turn, increased EA has been associated with increased risk of mortality in adults, as well as several age-related issues (such as cardiovascular diseases). There is a near complete lack of studies that have investigated whether Very Pre-Term Born (PTB) and Extremely Low Birth Weight (ELBW) children show higher EAA compared to Full Term (FT) controls. In this talk, I will, firstly, review the state of the literature regarding the association between long-term patterns of accelerated Epigenetic Aging and VPT birth / ELBW. Secondly, I will present the proposed analysis plan for the Bavarian Longitudinal Study that collected blood samples at 38 years for epigenome analysis. The aim of this study is to investigate between-group differences in EA, measured using two novel Epigenetic Clocks (DNAm Grimage2 and DunedinPACE). Additionally, the study seeks to identify prospectively assessed specific risk factors for individuals who are epigenetically older than others; and alternatively, promotive or protective factors for those who are younger than predicted.