Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40151157›Full record

ArticleAlcohol, clinical & experimental research2025

Alcohol and aging: Next-generation epigenetic clocks predict biological age acceleration in individuals with alcohol use disorder.

Tyler A Perlstein, Jeesun Jung, Alexandra C Wagner, Joshua Reitz, Josephin Wagner, Daniel B Rosoff, Falk W Lohoff

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Alcohol, clinical & experimental research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Tyler A PerlsteinSection on Clinical Genomics and Experimental Therapeutics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Jeesun JungSection on Clinical Genomics and Experimental Therapeutics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Alexandra C WagnerSection on Clinical Genomics and Experimental Therapeutics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0009-0006-6075-6848
Joshua ReitzSection on Clinical Genomics and Experimental Therapeutics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0009-0005-1041-6602
Josephin WagnerSection on Clinical Genomics and Experimental Therapeutics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Daniel B RosoffSection on Clinical Genomics and Experimental Therapeutics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Falk W LohoffSection on Clinical Genomics and Experimental Therapeutics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0480-7755

Funding

NIAAA Repository/Screening Database Management and ResearchZIAAA000130 · NIAAA · NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM · PI SCHWANDT, MELANIE · 2017 to 2025
$60.1M
Clinical Genomics and Experimental TherapeuticsZIAAA000242 · NIAAA · NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM · PI LOHOFF, FALK · 2015 to 2025
$26.7M
Intramural NIH HHS ZIA AA000130Intramural NIH HHS ZIA AA000242National Institutes of Health intramural funding grant ZIA-AA000130National Institutes of Health intramural funding grant ZIA-AA000242
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundChronic heavy alcohol use is a major risk factor for premature aging and age-related diseases. DNA methylation (DNAm)-based epigenetic clocks are novel tools for predicting biological age. However, the newest configurations, causality-enriched epigenetic clocks, have not been assessed in the context of alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorder (AUD).

methodsEpigenetic aging was evaluated in a sample of 615 individuals (372 AUD patients and 243 healthy controls) by applying the GrimAge Version 1 (V1) and Version 2 (V2) clocks alongside three causality-enriched clocks (CausAge, DamAge, and AdaptAge). A linear model controlling for AUD diagnosis, sex, race, BMI, smoking status, and five blood cell types was leveraged to test associations between alcohol-related metrics and age-adjusted epigenetic clocks.

resultsGrimAge V1 and V2 maintained significant associations with AUD and drinking behavior measures within the total sample and both the young (<40 years old) and old (≥40 years old) subgroups. Generally, GrimAge V2 slightly outperformed GrimAge V1, while none of the causality-enriched epigenetic clocks demonstrated significant associations with AUD. However, in the young subgroup, DamAge had a significant association with the total number of drinks. Across the total sample and age subgroups, with liver function enzymes, GrimAge V2 consistently sustained stronger associations compared with GrimAge V1. Among fourth-generation clocks, DamAge exhibited significant associations with gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and aspartate aminotransferase in the total sample and young subgroup; CausAge displayed a significant association with GGT in the total sample. Examining clinical biomarkers, GrimAge V2 showed improved associations with C-reactive protein compared to GrimAge V1 in the total sample and age subgroups.

conclusionsOverall, we observed moderately improved performance of GrimAge V2 compared with GrimAge V1 with the majority of the parameters tested. The causality-enriched epigenetic clocks lacked significant associations but demonstrate the complexities of aging and inspire further research of AUD and drinking dynamics.

Indexed as

AgingAging, PrematureAlcohol DrinkingAlcoholismEpigenesis, GeneticAdultAgedCase-Control StudiesDNA MethylationFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedYoung Adultalcohol consumptionalcohol use disorderDNA methylation clockepigenetic aging

Identifiers

PMID40151157
PMCPMC12012873

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.