Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41700335›Full record

ArticleEpigenomics2026

EpiSmokEr2: a robust epigenetic classifier for smoking status inference using Illumina EPIC methylation data.

Tianyu Zhu, Teodóra Faragó, Sailalitha Bollepalli, Aino Heikkinen, Mikaela Hukkanen, Olli Raitakari, Terho Lehtimäki, Tellervo Korhonen, Jaakko Kaprio, Fang Fang and 8 more

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In one paragraph

Article in Epigenomics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Tianyu ZhuMinerva Foundation Institute for Medical Research, Helsinki, Finland.
Teodóra FaragóMinerva Foundation Institute for Medical Research, Helsinki, Finland.
Sailalitha BollepalliInstitute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Aino HeikkinenMinerva Foundation Institute for Medical Research, Helsinki, Finland.
Mikaela HukkanenMinerva Foundation Institute for Medical Research, Helsinki, Finland.
Olli RaitakariCentre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.
Terho LehtimäkiDepartment of Clinical Chemistry, Fimlab Laboratories, and Finnish Cardiovascular Research Center - Tampere, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
Tellervo KorhonenInstitute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Jaakko KaprioInstitute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Fang FangGenOmics and Translational Research Center, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Kaitlyn G LawrenceDLH, LLC, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Dale P SandlerEpidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Mari Roberts SpildrejordeDepartment of Research and Innovation, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Kristina GervinDepartment of Research and Innovation, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Yanyu PanDepartment of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London, UK.
Ricardo CosteiraDepartment of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London, UK.
Jordana T BellDepartment of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London, UK.
Miina OllikainenMinerva Foundation Institute for Medical Research, Helsinki, Finland.

Funding

Gulf Longitudinal Follow-up (GuLF) StudyZIAES102945 · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES · 2025 to 2025
$893k
Intramural NIH HHS ZIA ES102945NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA048824
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimTobacco smoking induces persistent DNA methylation (DNAm) changes in blood that can serve as long-term biomarkers for smoking exposure. We aimed to develop and validate a DNAm classifier of smoking status using Illumina EPIC array data.

methodsWe built Epigenetic Smoking status Estimator2 (EpiSmokEr2), a Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression-based DNAm classifier using 511 CpGs from Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC array (EPIC) data. The model was trained on 1343 samples from the Young Finns Study cohort and validated across six independent datasets from four cohorts and two array platforms (EPIC and EPICv2).

resultsEpiSmokEr2 achieved an average sensitivity of 0.87 and specificity of 0.86 in distinguishing current from never smokers. Predicted smoking status correlated strongly with established DNAm smoking scores and GrimAge, indicating its ability to capture biologically relevant smoking effects. Simulation analysis showed EpiSmokEr2 was robust for up to 10% missing CpGs.

conclusionEpiSmokEr2 provides a reliable DNAm-based estimator of smoking status. It is available as an open-source R package on GitHub, facilitating broad use in epidemiological and clinical research.

Indexed as

DNA MethylationEpigenesis, GeneticEpigenomicsSmokingCpG IslandsHumansbiomarkersclassifierDNA methylationillumina EPIC arrayLASSO regressionsmoking status

Identifiers

PMID41700335
PMCPMC12962688

What Socratic holds

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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.