Life-course Psychosocial Adversity and Biological Aging in the Hispanic Community Health Study / Study of Latinos: A Life-course Model Analysis

Life-course Psychosocial Adversity and Biological Aging in the Hispanic Community Health Study / Study of Latinos: A Life-course Model Analysis | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Life-course Psychosocial Adversity and Biological Aging in the Hispanic Community Health Study / Study of Latinos: A Life-course Model Analysis Yinxian Chen, Sarina Abrishamcar, Christian K. Dye, Maria M. Llabre, and 12 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8725187/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Psychosocial adversity over the life course may impact the aging process. However, life-course models have yet to fully explain the biological embedding of psychosocial adversity in aging. A subsample of participants from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos with DNA methylation (DNAm) data (N = 970) was used to evaluate the effect of adversity on biological aging and the most compatible life-course model. Epigenetic age was estimated from GrimAge and DunedinPACE. We modified a current Bayesian life-course model to estimate the effect of adversity from childhood to adulthood on epigenetic age acceleration and the weights contributed by childhood ( \(\:{W}_{childhood}\) ) and adulthood ( \(\:{W}_{adulthood}\) ), which sum to one. The model was also used to evaluate the compatibility with the sensitive period ( \(\:{W}_{childhood}\) ≠ \(\:{W}_{adulthood}\) ) and accumulation models ( \(\:{W}_{childhood}\:\) ≈ \(\:{W}_{adulthood}\) ). Causal mediation analysis assessed the pathway model by estimating the indirect effect of childhood adversity through adulthood adversity. Per-unit increase in adversity was associated with 0.91 years (95% credible interval [CrI]: 0.28, 1.53; \(\:{W}_{adulthood}\) = 82%, 95% CrI: 36%, 99%) increased GrimAge acceleration (AgeAccelGrim) and 0.013 years/calendar year (95% CrI: -0.005, 0.032; \(\:{W}_{childhood}\) = 49%, 95% CrI: 3%, 97%; \(\:{W}_{adulthood}\) = 51%, 95% CrI: 3%, 97%) increased DunedinPACE. A pronounced indirect effect of childhood adversity was found in AgeAccelGrim (0.23 years, 95% CI: 0.09, 0.37) but minimal in DunedinPACE (0.003 years/calendar year, 95% CI: -0.001, 0.006). Psychosocial adversity from childhood to adulthood may affect biological aging, with distinct life-course models explaining its effects on different aging markers. psychosocial adversity lifetime biological aging life-course model Full Text Supplementary Files SupplementarymaterialsSOLLAEAA.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 10 Feb, 2026 Editor invited by journal 02 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 30 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 28 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8725187","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":588995005,"identity":"35166796-601a-49a9-84f5-1827edcb19d4","order_by":0,"name":"Yinxian Chen","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA8klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACZiBOADEkgPgDTJSHWC2MM4jSAgdALcxwlfi0GBznPSbxoOYOA//s5mOPbSq2yZnPSGB88LYNj5bDfMkGCceeMUjcOZZunHPmtrHMjQRmw7l4tfAYPkhgO8xgIJFjJp3bdjtxhkQCmzQvfi0GBxL+gbTkf5O2/AfWwv6bgBbDB4ltYFvYpBkbILYw49MieZjH2CCx7zCPxI00M8meY7eNJXgeNkvOOYdbC9/5M2aSP74dluOfkfxM4kfNbTkJ9uSDH96U4daicABCI0WEQGIDbvVAII8pzX8Ar45RMApGwSgYeQAAexpO+QW7oBQAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9835-2121","institution":"Emory University Rollins School of Public Health","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yinxian","middleName":"","lastName":"Chen","suffix":""},{"id":588995006,"identity":"4dbfa683-63e2-4c88-9b0a-2febb14b38fc","order_by":1,"name":"Sarina Abrishamcar","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Emory University Rollins School of Public Health","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sarina","middleName":"","lastName":"Abrishamcar","suffix":""},{"id":588995007,"identity":"728b91ee-4c2d-4472-967c-9e208736aa54","order_by":2,"name":"Christian K. 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Suglia","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Emory University Rollins School of Public Health","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shakira","middleName":"F.","lastName":"Suglia","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-28 21:26:26","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8725187/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8725187/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":102747000,"identity":"e36f3476-4be8-4ae7-b3e0-fdaabb17f6b1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-16 09:03:31","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1127462,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SOLLAEAApapersubmit.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8725187/v1_covered_5dd3d833-9e0a-40b1-89fc-ee6ec52957f4.pdf"},{"id":102614014,"identity":"8cee9a4a-da3b-48e1-966b-21c6eb57068f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-13 15:16:23","extension":"docx","order_by":9,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":2386232,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementarymaterialsSOLLAEAA.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8725187/v1/47b43f5b6cfda0e880157de5.docx"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Life-course Psychosocial Adversity and Biological Aging in the Hispanic Community Health Study / Study of Latinos: A Life-course Model Analysis","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"european-journal-of-epidemiology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"ejep","sideBox":"Learn more about [European Journal of Epidemiology](https://www.springer.com/journal/10654)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/ejep/default.aspx","title":"European Journal of Epidemiology","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"psychosocial adversity, lifetime, biological aging, life-course model","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8725187/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8725187/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003ePsychosocial adversity over the life course may impact the aging process. However, life-course models have yet to fully explain the biological embedding of psychosocial adversity in aging. A subsample of participants from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos with DNA methylation (DNAm) data (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;970) was used to evaluate the effect of adversity on biological aging and the most compatible life-course model. Epigenetic age was estimated from GrimAge and DunedinPACE. We modified a current Bayesian life-course model to estimate the effect of adversity from childhood to adulthood on epigenetic age acceleration and the weights contributed by childhood (\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{W}_{childhood}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e) and adulthood (\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{W}_{adulthood}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e), which sum to one. The model was also used to evaluate the compatibility with the sensitive period (\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{W}_{childhood}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e \u0026ne; \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{W}_{adulthood}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e) and accumulation models (\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{W}_{childhood}\\:\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u0026asymp; \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{W}_{adulthood}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e). Causal mediation analysis assessed the pathway model by estimating the indirect effect of childhood adversity through adulthood adversity. Per-unit increase in adversity was associated with 0.91 years (95% credible interval [CrI]: 0.28, 1.53; \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{W}_{adulthood}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e = 82%, 95% CrI: 36%, 99%) increased GrimAge acceleration (AgeAccelGrim) and 0.013 years/calendar year (95% CrI: -0.005, 0.032; \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{W}_{childhood}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e = 49%, 95% CrI: 3%, 97%; \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{W}_{adulthood}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e = 51%, 95% CrI: 3%, 97%) increased DunedinPACE. A pronounced indirect effect of childhood adversity was found in AgeAccelGrim (0.23 years, 95% CI: 0.09, 0.37) but minimal in DunedinPACE (0.003 years/calendar year, 95% CI: -0.001, 0.006). Psychosocial adversity from childhood to adulthood may affect biological aging, with distinct life-course models explaining its effects on different aging markers.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Life-course Psychosocial Adversity and Biological Aging in the Hispanic Community Health Study / Study of Latinos: A Life-course Model Analysis","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-13 15:16:18","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8725187/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"","date":"2026-02-13T22:32:37+00:00","index":0,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-02-10T13:22:32+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"European Journal of Epidemiology","date":"2026-02-02T14:03:22+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-01-30T14:47:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"European Journal of Epidemiology","date":"2026-01-28T16:26:19+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"european-journal-of-epidemiology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"ejep","sideBox":"Learn more about [European Journal of Epidemiology](https://www.springer.com/journal/10654)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/ejep/default.aspx","title":"European Journal of Epidemiology","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"34660565-692e-415e-90bf-be9d040a7682","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 13th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-13T15:16:18+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-13 15:16:18","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8725187","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8725187","identity":"rs-8725187","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}