Berg Co-Authors Study on Epigenetic Aging in Middle-Aged Women
Crime and Justice Policy Research Program director Mark Berg published a study on epigenetic aging in middle-aged Black women, exploring how changes in socioeconomic stress and lifestyle can predict changes in the speed of epigenetic aging. The study featured a sample of middle-aged Black women over an 11-year period.
To conduct this research, the team used data from the Family and Community Health Study to investigate whether changes such as financial stress, diet, smoking, exercise, alcohol consumption, and relationship status can predict changes in the speed of biological aging. The study's findings concluded that the adoption of a healthy diet and reduction of tobacco use were related to a decrease in epigenetic aging, while economic and housing stress were related to an increase in the speed of aging.
Berg co-authored this study with Ronald L. Simons, Mei Ling Ong, Man-Kit Lei, Eric Klopach, Yue Zhang, Robert Philibert, Frederick X. Gibbons, and Steven R.H. Beach. The paper was published in the Social Science & Medicine journal.