Epigenetic aging during the COVID-19 pandemic: A prospective longitudinal study with prepandemic baseline data in children, adolescents, and adults.

Epigenetic aging increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany across children, adolescents, and adults, with PedBE acceleration rising by b = 0.17 (P < 0.0001).

• Why it matters: Psychosocial stress may raise risk for aging-related diseases, and epigenetic clocks can detect early biological aging changes during major societal disruptions.
• What they did: Using prospective longitudinal saliva DNA from n = 1,028 participants, collected in March 2020 and again in 2021, the study applied four clocks (DunedinPACE, GrimAge2, Horvath, PedBE) to test links with pandemic stressors and preexisting health risks.
• The result: Significant increases were seen in PedBE acceleration (b = 0.17, P < 0.0001), GrimAge2 acceleration (b = 0.08, P < 0.0001), and DunedinPACE pace (b = 0.13, P < 0.0001) across all age groups, with prepandemic physical health and parental socioeconomic status linked to change and adolescents showing an association with perceived burden (DunedinPACE: b = 0.04, P = 0.01).

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