Natural disaster and immunological aging in a nonhuman primate

Extreme weather-related disasters are increasing in frequency and severity, leaving survivors to cope with the associated mental, financial, and physical hardships. This adversity can exacerbate existing morbidities, trigger new ones, and increase the risk of mortality, which are features that are also characteristic of advanced age. Thus, experiencing adversity such as extreme natural disasters may accelerate aging. Here, we examined how a natural disaster affected aging in the immune system by measuring the impact of Hurricane Maria and its aftermath on immune cell gene expression of a large, age-matched, cross-sectional sample of free-ranging rhesus macaques sampled before to one year after the hurricane. Hurricane Maria significantly altered the expression of 4 percent of immune-cell-expressed genes, and these effects were strongly correlated with age-associated changes in gene expression, suggesting that the hurricane accelerated aging of the immune system. Indeed, we found that individuals that experienced the hurricane had a gene expression profile that was, on average, 2 years older than individuals that did not experience the hurricane. This is roughly equivalent to 8 years in a human life. Living through an intense hurricane and its aftermath disrupted the expression of key immune genes, dysregulated proteostasis networks, and promoted increased expression of inflammatory immune cell-specific marker genes. Together, our findings illuminate mechanisms that biologically embed the adversity unleashed by extreme natural disasters, by accelerating aging in the immune system and ultimately contributing to earlier onset of disease and death.