Air pollution and accelerated epigenetic aging: Evidence from multiple epigenetic clocks in the Taiwan Biobank

The effects of exposure to air pollution on epigenetic age acceleration remain unclear. This study investigated the associations between exposure to six air pollutants (PM2.5, PM₁₀, CO, NO₂, SO₂, and O₃) and DNA methylation age using multiple epigenetic clocks, including Horvath (353 CpGs), Best Linear Unbiased Predictor (BLUP, 319,607 CpGs), and Elastic Net (EN, 514 CpGs) among 2462 participants from the Taiwan Biobank. Both PM2.5 and PM₁₀ exposure showed significant associations with all three epigenetic clocks. In multi-pollutant models combining PM2.5 with other pollutants, the associations remained significant. The weighted sum of all air pollutants showed significant associations with all three epigenetic clocks. Weight distribution analyses identified PM2.5 and PM₁₀ as the predominant contributors across all clock models. These results underscore the importance of air pollution control as a key component of public health strategies aimed at promoting healthy aging.