Genome Biology (Jan 2022)
Blood-based epigenome-wide analyses of cognitive abilities
- Daniel L. McCartney,
- Robert F. Hillary,
- Eleanor L. S. Conole,
- Daniel Trejo Banos,
- Danni A. Gadd,
- Rosie M. Walker,
- Cliff Nangle,
- Robin Flaig,
- Archie Campbell,
- Alison D. Murray,
- Susana Muñoz Maniega,
- María del C. Valdés-Hernández,
- Mathew A. Harris,
- Mark E. Bastin,
- Joanna M. Wardlaw,
- Sarah E. Harris,
- David J. Porteous,
- Elliot M. Tucker-Drob,
- Andrew M. McIntosh,
- Kathryn L. Evans,
- Ian J. Deary,
- Simon R. Cox,
- Matthew R. Robinson,
- Riccardo E. Marioni
Affiliations
- Daniel L. McCartney
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh
- Robert F. Hillary
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh
- Eleanor L. S. Conole
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh
- Daniel Trejo Banos
- Department of Quantitative Biomedicine, University of Zurich
- Danni A. Gadd
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh
- Rosie M. Walker
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh
- Cliff Nangle
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh
- Robin Flaig
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh
- Archie Campbell
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh
- Alison D. Murray
- Aberdeen Biomedical Imaging Centre, University of Aberdeen
- Susana Muñoz Maniega
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh
- María del C. Valdés-Hernández
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh
- Mathew A. Harris
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh
- Mark E. Bastin
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh
- Joanna M. Wardlaw
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh
- Sarah E. Harris
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh
- David J. Porteous
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh
- Elliot M. Tucker-Drob
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas
- Andrew M. McIntosh
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh
- Kathryn L. Evans
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh
- Ian J. Deary
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh
- Simon R. Cox
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh
- Matthew R. Robinson
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria
- Riccardo E. Marioni
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-021-02596-5
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 23,
no. 1
pp. 1 – 16
Abstract
Abstract Background Blood-based markers of cognitive functioning might provide an accessible way to track neurodegeneration years prior to clinical manifestation of cognitive impairment and dementia. Results Using blood-based epigenome-wide analyses of general cognitive function, we show that individual differences in DNA methylation (DNAm) explain 35.0% of the variance in general cognitive function (g). A DNAm predictor explains ~4% of the variance, independently of a polygenic score, in two external cohorts. It also associates with circulating levels of neurology- and inflammation-related proteins, global brain imaging metrics, and regional cortical volumes. Conclusions As sample sizes increase, the ability to assess cognitive function from DNAm data may be informative in settings where cognitive testing is unreliable or unavailable.
Keywords
