Abstract
Individuals with psychiatric disorders are at increased risk of age-related diseases
and early mortality. Recent studies demonstrate that this link between mental health
and aging is reflected in epigenetic clocks, aging biomarkers based on DNA methylation.
The reported relationships between epigenetic clocks and mental health are mostly
correlational, and the mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we review recent progress
concerning the molecular and cellular processes underlying epigenetic clocks, as well
as novel technologies enabling further studies of the causes and consequences of epigenetic
aging. We then review the current literature on how epigenetic clocks relate to specific
aspects of mental health, such as stress, medications, substance use, health behaviors,
and symptom clusters. We propose an integrated framework where mental health and epigenetic
aging are each broken down into multiple distinct processes which are then linked
to each other, using stress and schizophrenia as examples. This framework incorporates
the heterogeneity and complexity of both mental health conditions and aging, may help
reconcile conflicting results, and provides a basis for further hypothesis-driven
research in humans and model systems to investigate potentially causal mechanisms
linking aging and mental health.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
February 1,
2023
Received in revised form:
January 31,
2023
Received:
July 31,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Journal Pre-ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2023 Published by Elsevier Inc on behalf of Society of Biological Psychiatry.
