Epigenome-wide association study of level and change in cognitive abilities from midlife through late life

Clinical Epigenetics

Table 1 Significant epigenome-wide associations of DNA methylation and empirical Bayes estimates for level and change in cognitive abilities

Cognitive domain and CpG site	Gene	Position^a	Total sample n = 535 individuals			Between-pair effect n = 297 pairs			Within-pair effect n = 238 complete pairs
Cognitive domain and CpG site	Gene	Position^a	Estimate	SE	p value	Estimate	SE	p value	Estimate	SE	p value
Processing speed (intercept)
cg18064256	PPP1R13L	19:45905621	− 1.77	0.31	1.55e−08	− 2.22	0.51	2.20e−05	− 1.14	0.34	9.42e−04
Spatial ability (intercept)
cg04549090	NRXN3	14:79033036	1.95	0.36	1.23e−07	2.34	0.55	2.95e−05	1.02	0.37	6.55e−03
cg18064256	PPP1R13L	19:45905621	− 2.01	0.38	1.67e−07	− 2.15	0.56	1.45e−04	− 1.74	0.38	5.99e−06
Working memory (intercept)
cg09988380	POGZ	1:151431765	− 2.11	0.40	1.88e−07	− 2.64	0.61	2.57e−05	− 1.04	0.48	0.03
cg25651129	–	8:11474056	1.89	0.35	1.34e−07	2.41	0.64	2.05e−04	1.21	0.44	6.28e−03
cg08011941	ENTPD8	9:140333139	2.00	0.35	2.67e−08	2.49	0.62	7.93e−05	1.01	0.47	0.03

Significant (p < 2.4 × 10^–7) associations from epigenome-wide analyses of DNA methylation and level and change in processing speed, verbal and spatial ability, episodic and working memory, and general cognitive ability in the total sample, followed by results between and within twin pairs. Empirical Bayes estimates for level of cognitive ability at the intercept age (age 70 for verbal ability, 65 for all other domains) as well as 10-year linear and quadratic change were modeled as separate outcomes. Linear regression was applied to the total sample and between-within models to compare estimates between and within twin pairs. All models were adjusted for sex, age and smoking at the time of blood sample, methylation array, and number of testing waves with cognitive measures
^aGenome Reference Consortium Human Build 37 (GRCh37)

ISSN: 1868-7083