Abstract
The rate of aging has increased globally during recent decades and has led to a rising burden of age-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD). At the molecular level, epigenetic modifications have been shown recently to alter gene expression during the life course and impair cellular function. In this regard, several CVD risk factors, such as lifestyle and environmental factors, have emerged as key factors in epigenetic modifications within the cardiovascular system. In this study, we attempted to summarized recent evidence related to epigenetic modification, inflammation response, and CVD in older adults as well as the effect of lifestyle modification as a preventive strategy in this age group. Recent evidence showed that lifestyle and environmental factors may affect epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, histone acetylation, and miRNA expression. Several substances or nutrients such as selenium, magnesium, curcumin, and caffeine (present in coffee and some teas) could regulate epigenetics. Similarly, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption, air pollutants, psychological stress, and shift working are well-known modifiers of epigenetic patterns. Understanding the exact ways that lifestyle and environmental factors could affect the expression of genes could help to influence the time of incidence and severity of aging-associated diseases. This review highlighted that a healthy lifestyle throughout the life course, such as a healthy diet rich in fibers, vitamins, and essential elements, and specific fatty acids, adequate physical activity and sleep, smoking cessation, and stress control, could be useful tools in preventing epigenetic changes that lead to impaired cardiovascular function.
Highlights
Introduction conditions of the Creative CommonsThe World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that the worldwide proportion of individuals aged 65 and older will double between the years 2000 and 2050, from the current6.9% to 16.4% [1]
Aging is a natural and unavoidable process that is associated with epigenetic changes that may impair tissue and organ function
Epigenetic effects are manifested by altered gene transcription in response to lifestyle and environmental cues and provide mechanistic insight into individual responses to the environment
Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that the worldwide proportion of individuals aged 65 and older will double between the years 2000 and 2050, from the current. A growing body of evidence suggests that epigenetic modifications may significantly disrupt gene expression routes during the life course, affecting the molecular phenotype and function of involved cells [14]. Aging of the heart is accompanied by changes in the expression of genes encoding proteins that are involved in inflammatory and stress responses that, when exceeding the homeostatic levels, impair cardiac function [17]. These changes can be triggered by genetic mutations or epigenetic modifications that cause changes in the gene expression profile. While cardiac hypertrophy and cardiac fibrosis are considered as the main causes of heart failure, several genes have increased expressions, e.g., Nappa, Nppb, Myh, and skeletal alpha-actin [19,20,21]
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