Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/331678 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 18114
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Epigenetics is the study of how people's behavior and environments influence the way their genes are expressed, even though their DNA sequence is itself unchanged. By aggregating age-related epigenetic markers, epigenetic 'clocks' have become the leading tool for studying biological aging. We make an important contribution by developing a novel, integrated measure of epigenetic aging – the Multi EpiGenetic Age (MEGA) clock – which combines several existing epigenetic clocks to reduce measurement error and improve estimation efficiency. We use the MEGA clock in three empirical contexts to show that: i) accelerated epigenetic aging in adolescence is associated with worse educational, mental-health, and labor market outcomes in early adulthood; ii) exposure to child maltreatment before adolescence is associated with half a year higher epigenetic aging; and iii) that entering school one year later accelerates epigenetic aging by age seven, particularly among disadvantaged children. The MEGA clock is robust to alternative methods for constructing it, providing a flexible and interpretable approach for incorporating epigenetic data into a wide variety of settings.
Subjects: 
epigenetic clocks
DNA methylation
child abuse
human capital
ALSPAC data
JEL: 
I12
I14
J24
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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