O-003 Association of Epigenetic Age and Work-Related Stress With Trajectories of Chronic Health Conditions in Older Workers

Introduction This study examined whether epigenetic age and work-related stress are associated with differential classification into trajectories of chronic health conditions (CHCs) among older workers. Methods We used 2016-2020 data for adults working for pay from the Health and Retirement Study and biological clock data from the 2016 HRS Venous Blood Study (N=988). CHC trajectories were constructed using latent class growth models, and focused on self-reported doctor-diagnosed diabetes, hypertension, cancer, lung disease, heart disease, stroke, and arthritis at each wave. Multinomial logistic regression analysis examined the association between epigenetic age as measured by the PhenoAge clock and CHC trajectories. Results Participants (≥ 50 years) were classified into 4 CHC trajectory classes, graded by risk of increasing mean CHCs, with trajectory class 1 indicating the lowest mean number of CHCs (most favorable) and class 4 the highest (worst), over 3 study waves. We found a graded association between increasing epigenetic age and risk of classification into worsening CHC trajectory classes. After adjusting for chronological age, race, gender, education, work hours, and job tenure, PhenoAge was associated with a four-fold risk of classification into CHC trajectory class 4 (RRR=4.13, 95%CI=1.91-8.93), and inclusion of job stress into the model, modestly attenuated this association (RRR=4.07, 95%CI=1.87-8.86), implying that job stress partially explains the observed association. An epigenetic age*job stress interaction in the fully adjusted model was not statistically significant, therefore no additional post-hoc analysis was conducted. Discussion and conclusion Further research is warranted to better understand the contribution of epigenetic age and work conditions to adverse health outcomes in older workers.