Project description:The SARS-CoV-2 infection determines the COVID-19 syndrome characterized, in the worst cases, by severe respiratory distress, pulmonary and cardiac fibrosis, inflammatory cytokine release, and immunosuppression. This condition has led to the death of about 2.15% of the total infected world population so far. Among survivors, the presence of the so-called persistent post-COVID-19 syndrome (PPCS) is a common finding. In COVID-19 survivors, PPCS presents one or more symptoms: fatigue, dyspnea, memory loss, sleep disorders, and difficulty concentrating. In this study, a cohort of 117 COVID-19 survivors (post-COVID-19) and 144 non-infected volunteers (COVID-19-free) was analyzed using pyrosequencing of defined CpG islands previously identified as suitable for biological age determination. The results show a consistent biological age increase in the post-COVID-19 population, determining a DeltaAge acceleration of 10.45 ± 7.29 years (+5.25 years above the range of normality) compared with 3.68 ± 8.17 years for the COVID-19-free population (p < 0.0001). A significant telomere shortening parallels this finding in the post-COVID-19 cohort compared with COVID-19-free subjects (p < 0.0001). Additionally, ACE2 expression was decreased in post-COVID-19 patients, compared with the COVID-19-free population, while DPP-4 did not change. In light of these observations, we hypothesize that some epigenetic alterations are associated with the post-COVID-19 condition, particularly in younger patients (< 60 years).
Project description:In an epidemic, it is important to have methods for reliable and rapid assessment of risk groups for severe forms of the disease for their priority vaccination and for the application of preventive lockdown measures. The aim of this study was to investigate risk factors for severe forms of COVID-19 in adults using indicators of biological and subjective aging. Longitudinal studies evaluated the severity of the disease and the number of cases. Respondents (447) were divided into "working group" and "risk group" (retirees with chronic diseases). During the lockdown period (in mid-2020), accelerated aging was observed in the group of workers (by 3.9-8 years for men and an increase at the tendency level for women). However, the respondents began to feel subjectively younger (by 3.3-7.2 years). In the risk group, there were no deviations from the expected biopsychological aging. The number of cases at the end of 2020 was 31% in workers and 0% in the risk group. Reasonably, the risk group followed the quarantine rules more strictly by 1.5 times. In working men, indicators of relative biological and relative subjective aging (measured in both 2019 and mid-2020) significantly influenced the incidence at the end of 2020. In women, only the indicators obtained in mid-2020 had a significant impact. The relative biological aging of an individual tested in the middle of 2020 had a direct impact on the risk of infection (p < 0.05) and on the probability of death (p < 0.0001). On the contrary, an increase in the relative subjective (psychological) aging index reduced the risk of infection (at the tendency level, p = 0.06) and the risk of death (p < 0.0001). Both the risk of infection and the risk of death increased with calendar age at the tendency level. Conclusions: Indicators of individual relative biological and subjective aging affect the probability of getting COVID-19 and its severity. The combination of high indicators of biological aging and underestimated indicators of subjective aging is associated with increased chances of developing severe forms of the disease.
Project description:We performed a whole-genome DNA methylation analysis using EPIC Illumina BeadArrays on blood samples of a cohort of 96 individuals collected six months after COVID-19 infection.
Project description:DNA methylation (DNAm) is an emerging estimator of biological aging, i.e., the often-defined "epigenetic clock", with a unique accuracy for chronological age estimation (DNAmAge). In this pilot longitudinal study, we examine the hypothesis that intensive relaxing training of 60 days in patients after myocardial infarction and in healthy subjects may influence leucocyte DNAmAge by turning back the epigenetic clock. Moreover, we compare DNAmAge with another mechanism of biological age, leucocyte telomere length (LTL) and telomerase. DNAmAge is reduced after training in healthy subjects (p = 0.053), but not in patients. LTL is preserved after intervention in healthy subjects, while it continues to decrease in patients (p = 0.051). The conventional negative correlation between LTL and chronological age becomes positive after training in both patients (p < 0.01) and healthy subjects (p < 0.05). In our subjects, DNAmAge is not associated with LTL. Our findings would suggest that intensive relaxing practices influence different aging molecular mechanisms, i.e., DNAmAge and LTL, with a rejuvenating effect. Our study reveals that DNAmAge may represent an accurate tool to measure the effectiveness of lifestyle-based interventions in the prevention of age-related diseases.
Project description:Epigenetic clocks can quantify DNA methylation by measuring the methylation levels at specific sites in the genome, which correlate with biological age (BA). Accelerated aging, where BA exceeds chronological age (CA), has been studied in relation to cancer development, but its utility in cancer prevention remains unclear. Accelerated aging holds promise as a tool to explain the rise in early onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC). We investigate the association of accelerated aging and the presence of pre-neoplastic polyps (PNP) in the colon, defined as tubular adenomas and sessile serrated adenomas. In this study of persons under age 50 undergoing colonoscopy, we used peripheral blood samples to determine BA and age acceleration metrics. Age acceleration was determined by interrogating DNA methylation (DNAm) at specific CpG sites across the genome, which has been shown to correlate with age. We then conducted logistic regression analyses to evaluate the association between age acceleration and PNPs. In total, 51 patient samples were evaluated. We found that that the odds of harboring a PNP are 17% higher with 1 year of accelerated aging, as measured by GrimAge. However, the strongest risk factor for PNPs remained male sex. This represents one of the first studies to explore accelerated aging and PNP in patients under the age of 50. A risk-stratified approach to EOCRC screening would minimize unnecessary colonoscopies and minimize healthcare burden while addressing the rise in EOCRC. Our findings suggest that BA calculations with peripheral blood collections could be an important component of such a risk model.
Project description:ObjectiveMotoric cognitive risk (MCR) syndrome, a predementia syndrome characterized by slow gait and subjective cognitive concerns, is associated with multiple age-related risk factors. We hypothesized that MCR is associated with biological age acceleration. We examined the associations of biological age acceleration with MCR, and mortality risk in MCR cases.MethodsBiological age was determined using proteomic and epigenetic clocks in participants aged 65 years and older in the LonGenity study (N = 700, females = 57.9%) and Health and Retirement Study (HRS; N = 1,043, females = 57.1%) cohorts. Age acceleration (AgeAccel) was operationally defined as the residual from regressing predicted biological age (from both clocks separately) on chronological age. Association of AgeAccel with incident MCR in the overall sample as well as with mortality risk in MCR cases was examined using Cox models and reported as hazard ratios (HRs).ResultsAgeAccel scores derived from a proteomic clock were associated with prevalent MCR (odds ratio adjusted for age, gender, education years, and chronic illnesses [aOR] = 1.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.09-1.71) as well as predicted incident MCR (HR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.00-1.41) in the LonGenity cohort. In HRS, the association of AgeAccel using an epigenetic clock with prevalent MCR was confirmed (aOR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.16-1.85). Participants with MCR and accelerated aging (positive AgeAccel score) were at the highest risk for mortality in both LonGenity (HR = 3.38, 95% CI = 2.01-5.69) and HRS (HR = 2.47, 95% CI = 1.20-5.10).InterpretationAccelerated aging predicts risk for MCR, and is associated with higher mortality in MCR patients. ANN NEUROL 2023;93:1187-1197.
Project description:Social trust has been an important mechanism in overcoming crises throughout history. Several societies are now emphasizing its role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to investigate how variations in social trust across 68 countries are related to the transmission speed of COVID-19. Specifically, using cross-national index data from the World Value Survey, the study tests how variations in social trust across countries generate different time durations at which each country reaches the peak in terms of increases in new infections of COVID-19. Using data drawn between December 31, 2019 and July 31, 2020, this study found that in countries with a high level of social trust, particularly trust among ingroup members, or with a narrower or wider range than the intermediate range of trustees, the number of new infections tended to reach the first peak within a shorter time duration than in other countries. These results imply that in such societies, on the one hand, high cooperation among people to achieve common goals and strong compliance to social norms may allow them to begin neutralizing COVID-19 faster. On the other hand, however, the low risk perception and prevalence of cohesive relationships among people may lead to speedier transmission of COVID-19 before neutralization takes place.
Project description:Background:We investigated a likely scenario of COVID-19 spreading in Brazil through the complex airport network of the country, for the 90 days after the first national occurrence of the disease. After the confirmation of the first imported cases, the lack of a proper airport entrance control resulted in the infection spreading in a manner directly proportional to the amount of flights reaching each city, following the first occurrence of the virus coming from abroad. Methodology:We developed a Susceptible-Infected-Recovered model divided in a metapopulation structure, where cities with airports were demes connected by the number of flights. Subsequently, we further explored the role of the Manaus airport for a rapid entrance of the pandemic into indigenous territories situated in remote places of the Amazon region. Results:The expansion of the SARS-CoV-2 virus between cities was fast, directly proportional to the city closeness centrality within the Brazilian air transportation network. There was a clear pattern in the expansion of the pandemic, with a stiff exponential expansion of cases for all the cities. The more a city showed closeness centrality, the greater was its vulnerability to SARS-CoV-2. Conclusions:We discussed the weak pandemic control performance of Brazil in comparison with other tropical, developing countries, namely India and Nigeria. Finally, we proposed measures for containing virus spreading taking into consideration the scenario of high poverty.
Project description:In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK was placed under strict lockdown measures on 23 March 2020. The aim of this study was to quantify the effects on physical activity (PA) levels using data from the prospective Triage-HF Plus Evaluation study. This study represents a cohort of adult patients with implanted cardiac devices capable of measuring activity by embedded accelerometery via a remote monitoring platform. Activity data were available for the 4 weeks pre-implementation and post implementation of 'stay at home' lockdown measures in the form of 'minutes active per day' (min/day). Data were analysed for 311 patients (77.2% men, mean age 68.8, frailty 55.9%. 92.2% established heart failure (HF) diagnosis, of these 51.2% New York Heart Association II), with comorbidities representative of a real-world cohort.Post-lockdown, a significant reduction in median PA equating to 20.8 active min/day was seen. The reduction was uniform with a slightly more pronounced drop in PA for women, but no statistically significant difference with respect to age, body mass index, frailty or device type. Activity dropped in the immediate 2-week period post-lockdown, but steadily returned thereafter. Median activity week 4 weeks post-lockdown remained significantly lower than 4 weeks pre-lockdown (p≤0.001). In a population of predominantly HF patients with cardiac devices, activity reduced by approximately 20 min active per day in the immediate aftermath of strict COVID-19 lockdown measures. NCT04177199.
Project description:Background/purposeThe outbreak of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to unprecedented impact on mental health globally. Recent empirical data however, indicated that suicide rates in many countries remained unchanged or even decreased. Existing studies assessed the overall rates and did not stratify by age-subgroups.MethodsWe used an interrupted time-series analysis to model the age-stratified (<25, 25-44, 45-64, ≥65) trends in monthly suicide rates before (January 1st, 2017 to December 31st, 2019) and after (January 1st 2020 to December 31st 2020) the outbreak of COVID-19 in Taiwan.ResultsWe found a slight decrease in overall suicide rates after the outbreak (annual average rates were 16.4 and 15.5 per 100,000 population, respectively, p = 0.05). Age-stratified analysis indicated that suicide rates increased in younger (<25) and decreased in the middle age group (25-64 years). In older age groups (≥65), an immediate rate decrease was observed followed by a sustained upward trend during the onset of the pandemic.ConclusionAlthough an overall decrease in annual suicide rates was found after the outbreak, the age-specific subgroup analysis reveals a more nuanced picture. Stratified analysis is crucial to identify vulnerable subgroups in the midst of the pandemic.