Browsing by Subject "GxE interactions"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Demographics, phenotypic health characteristics and genetic analysis of centenarians in China.
    (Mech Ageing Dev, 2016-12-28) Zeng, Yi; Feng, Qiushi; Gu, Danan; Vaupel, James W
    After a brief introduction to the background, significance and unique features of the centenarian population in China, we describe the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Study (CLHLS), which is the world's largest study of centenarians, nonagenarians, octogenarians, and compatible young-old aged 65-79. Based on the CLHLS data and other relevant studies, we summarize demographic and socioeconomic characteristics as well as self-reported and objectively-tested health indicators of centenarians in China, with an emphasis on gender differences and rural/urban disparities. We then compare five-year-age-specific trajectories of physical and cognitive functions, self-reported health, and life satisfactions from ages 65-69 to 100+, concluding that good psychological resilience and optimism are keys to the exceptional longevity enjoyed by centenarians. We discuss recent findings of novel loci and pathways that are significantly associated with longevity based on the genome-wide association study (GWAS) of the CLHLS centenarian sample, which is 2.7 times as large as prior GWAS of longevity. We also highlight colleagues' and our own studies on longevity candidate genes and gene-environment interaction analyses. Finally, we discuss limitations inherent in our studies of centenarians in China and further research perspectives.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    GxE interactions between FOXO genotypes and drinking tea are significantly associated with prevention of cognitive decline in advanced age in China.
    (J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci, 2015-04) Zeng, Y; Chen, H; Ni, T; Ruan, R; Feng, L; Nie, C; Cheng, L; Li, Y; Tao, W; Gu, J; Land, KC; Yashin, A; Tan, Q; Yang, Z; Bolund, L; Yang, H; Hauser, E; Willcox, DC; Willcox, BJ; Tian, X; Vaupel, JW
    Logistic regression analysis based on data from 822 Han Chinese oldest old aged 92+ demonstrated that interactions between carrying FOXO1A-266 or FOXO3-310 or FOXO3-292 and tea drinking at around age 60 or at present time were significantly associated with lower risk of cognitive disability at advanced ages. Associations between tea drinking and reduced cognitive disability were much stronger among carriers of the genotypes of FOXO1A-266 or FOXO3-310 or FOXO3-292 compared with noncarriers, and it was reconfirmed by analysis of three-way interactions across FOXO genotypes, tea drinking at around age 60, and at present time. Based on prior findings from animal and human cell models, we postulate that intake of tea compounds may activate FOXO gene expression, which in turn may positively affect cognitive function in the oldest old population. Our empirical findings imply that the health benefits of particular nutritional interventions, including tea drinking, may, in part, depend upon individual genetic profiles.