Publication date: May 26, 2026
The COVID-19 pandemic had profound effects for both infected and uninfected individuals. We aimed to identify acute and chronic epigenetic alterations from SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or lockdown measures. Both infected and uninfected participants from the TwinsUK cohort (n = 139) provided longitudinal whole-blood samples (Spring 2020, Spring 2021). Cross-sectional and longitudinal DNA methylome [DNAm] changes, including epigenetic ageing clocks, were assessed, and EWAS (Epigenome-Wide Association Studies) were performed. Changes in epigenetic ageing clocks were compared with longitudinal samples from an independent pre-pandemic cohort (n = 35, Nurses’ Health Study II cohort), assessed similarly. Irrespective of SARS-CoV-2 infection, all individuals exhibited accelerated ageing from 2020 to 2021 (GrimAge clock age acceleration: p-value = 0. 002, β = 0. 99). In contrast, epigenetic data from paired samples from a separate pre-pandemic cohort, over a similar time period and assessed similarly, did not exhibit GrimAge acceleration. Epigenetic ageing did not differ between infected and uninfected individuals, or between recent and distant SARS-CoV-2 infection. Lastly, EWAS identified several putative changes in DNAm associated with recent, and distant, SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our longitudinal results suggest that the pandemic accelerated epigenetic ageing rates, irrespective of recent or distant SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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| Concepts | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Dnam | COVID-19 |
| Global | Epigenetic ageing |
| Nurses | Epigenetic clocks |
| Pandemic | Lockdown |
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | COVID-19 pandemic |
| pathway | REACTOME | SARS-CoV-2 Infection |
| pathway | REACTOME | Reproduction |
| disease | MESH | included |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Potassium Chloride |
| disease | MESH | NHS |
| pathway | REACTOME | Methylation |
| drug | DRUGBANK | L-Phenylalanine |
| disease | MESH | infection |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Hexocyclium |
| disease | MESH | re infection |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Coenzyme M |
| disease | MESH | mul |