Biological Age Linked to Depression During COVID-19 | Aging-US

Aging-US #published this #trending research paper on November 18, 2025, in Volume 17, Issue 11, entitled “Epigenetic age predicts depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging: importance of biological sex" by #researchers from the Barha Brain Health Laboratory, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Aging, Mobility, and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada; School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; McMaster Institute for Research on Aging, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada; Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Division of Geriatric Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. @UBC #aging #COVID19 #depression #epigeneticclocks #openaccess #openscience #peerreviewed #journal #publishing #meded DOI: https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.206337 Corresponding author: Teresa Liu-Ambrose - teresa.ambrose@ubc.ca Abstract Epigenetic age is a biological metric of overall health and may predict mental health responses to unprecedented stressors. We sought to determine whether epigenetic age acceleration can predict older adults’ trajectory of depressive symptoms before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether sex differences exist. Data from baseline (2012-2015), first follow-up (2015-2018), and COVID-19 Baseline survey (April-May 2020) and COVID-19 Exit survey (September-December 2020) of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging were used. Epigenetic age was measured at the study baseline, and depressive symptoms were assessed at each of the four time points using the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10). Sex-stratified mixed linear models examined the effect of epigenetic age (measured by DNAmAge and Hannum Age) on changes in CESD-10. The mean participant chronological age at study entry was 63±10 years (46% female). Unexpectedly, younger epigenetic age predicted increases in depressive symptoms from first follow-up to COVID-19 Baseline survey (p’s less than 0.05) in females only. Higher epigenetic age was not related to changes in CES-10 score during that time period (p’s greater than 0.05). These findings suggest epigenetic age is a biological factor that can identify females at risk for greater negative effects of major life stressors on mental health. Sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article - https://aging.altmetric.com/details/email_updates?id=10.18632%2Faging.206337 Subscribe for free publication alerts from Aging - https://www.aging-us.com/subscribe-to-toc-alerts Keywords - epigenetic clocks, COVID-19, depressive symptoms, sex differences, aging, CLSA To learn more about the journal, please visit https://www.Aging-US.com​​ and connect with us on social media: Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/aging-us.bsky.social ResearchGate - https://www.researchgate.net/journal/Aging-1945-4589 X - https://twitter.com/AgingJrnl Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AgingUS/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/agingjrnl/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aging/ Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/user/AgingUS/ Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/AgingUS/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Aging-US Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1X4HQQgegjReaf6Mozn6Mc MEDIA@IMPACTJOURNALS.COM