Higher income linked to less random DNA marks in older women
An observational analysis of 2,192 postmenopausal women, checked in two other groups, linked higher income and education to lower randomness in DNA marks.
Our read
Biomarkers- Studied:
- Cross-sectional study of 2,192 postmenopausal women (Multicenter)
- What changed:
- Higher income was linked to less randomness in DNA methylation among postmenopausal women
- The catch:
- Health differences could account for the link between income and DNA methylation randomness
- In the record:
- The 50th paper on income with results in people; 137 on record in all.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Postmenopausal women aged 50–83 were studied in an observational analysis of income, education and aging-related DNA changes. Researchers analyzed blood DNA from 2,192 Women's Health Initiative participants and checked the findings in groups of 1,989 and 868 women. They measured epigenetic entropy: randomness in DNA methylation, chemical marks that help regulate gene activity.
Higher income and education were consistently associated with lower entropy. Low income was also linked to more methylation in regions targeted by polycomb proteins, which help regulate embryonic development. Higher income was associated with lower entropy and a slower estimated pace of aging in White women. These income associations were weaker in Black and Hispanic women, who also had higher average variability in their methylation patterns.
Why it matters
DNA methylation changes with age. The authors suggest that sites targeted by polycomb proteins could serve as sensors of the social environment and related exposures.
Caveats
The analysis compared existing differences in income and DNA marks; health and other income-related exposures could help account for the links. The Women's Health Initiative findings concern postmenopausal women, not men or younger women.
The paper
University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Clinical Epigenetics, Jun 19, 2026, Open access
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