The Early Origins of Biological Aging: Maternal Income, Education, and DNA Methylation Patterns at Ages 9-15

• In Event: 50210 - Health Inequalities Across the Life Course

Abstract

Socioeconomic inequalities in biological aging are well-documented, but the timing of their emergence remains unclear. Using longitudinal data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N=1,915), we examine DNA methylation patterns at ages 9 and 15 to assess the relationship between maternal socioeconomic status and children's biological aging. Maternal income at birth strongly predicts biological aging: a one percent increase in income corresponds to a 0.168 decrease in DNA methylation age at age 9, with effects persisting through age 15. These early-life associations remain robust across three epigenetic aging measures and after adjusting for later economic conditions. Children of mothers without college degrees exhibit accelerated biological aging, with disparities growing from ages 9 to 15. Accelerated biological aging predicts earlier menarche (particularly by age 10) and reduced height attainment by age 15, with the strongest effects observed among children of less-educated mothers. These findings suggest that socioeconomic disadvantage becomes biologically embedded during prenatal and early childhood periods, creating aging disparities that emerge by age 9 and influence developmental timing. Expanding research on aging beyond adult populations is crucial for understanding how aging trajectories and disparities are shaped across the life course.

Author

• Beza Taddess, Princeton University