Maternal prenatal social experiences and offspring epigenetic age acceleration from birth to mid-childhood

Purpose: Investigate associations of maternal social experiences with offspring epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) from birth through mid-childhood among 205 mother-offspring dyads of minoritized racial and ethnic groups. Methods: We used linear regression to examine associations of maternal experiences of racial bias or discrimination (0 = none, 1–2 = intermediate, or 3+ = high), social support (tertile 1 = low, 2 = intermediate, 3 = high), and socioeconomic status index (tertile 1 = low, 2 = intermediate, 3 = high) during the prenatal period with offspring EAA according to Horvath's Pan-Tissue, Horvath's Skin and Blood, and Intrinsic EAA clocks at birth, 3 years, and 7 years. Results: In comparison to children of women who did not experience any racial bias or discrimination, those whose mothers reported highest levels of racial bias or discrimination had lower Pan-Tissue clock EAA in early (−0.50 years; 90% CI: −0.91, −0.09) and mid-childhood (−0.75 years; −1.41, −0.08). We observed similar associations for the Skin and Blood clock and Intrinsic EAA. Maternal experiences of discrimination were not associated with Pan-Tissue EAA at birth. Neither maternal social support nor socioeconomic status predicted offspring EAA. Conclusions: Children whose mothers experienced higher racial bias or discrimination exhibited slower EAA. Future studies are warranted to confirm these findings and establish associations of early-life EAA with long-term health outcomes.