our publications

Understanding links between our biology and social circumstances to improve the quality and quantity of human lifespan


 Peer-reviewed publications


Under Review


  • Vasiljevic E, LL Schmitz, and CD Engelman. Prenatal nutritional environment is associated with late-life cognition in the Health and Retirement Study: A natural experiment.

  • Basu, S, J Fletcher, and LL Schmitz. Later-life impacts of delaying childbirth on maternal health and economic wellbeing in the UK Biobank.

  • Beauchamp J, J Lee, M McGue, and LL Schmitz. Nature-nurture interplay: Evidence from molecular genetic and pedigree data in Korean American adoptees. (link)

  • Cheng M, D Conley, TB Kuipers, C Li, CP Ryan, MJ Taeubert, S Wang, T Wang, J Zhou, LL Schmitz, EW Tobi, BT Heijmans, LH Lumey, DW Belsky. Accelerated biological aging six decades after prenatal famine exposure.

  • Opsasnick LA, SM Ratliff, JD Faul, LL Schmitz, W Zhao, JA Smith. Epigenome-wide association study of long-term psychosocial stress in older adults.

  • Miao J, G Song, Y Wu, J Hu, Y Wu, S Basu, JS Andrews, K Schaumberg, JM Fletcher, LL Schmitz, Q Lu. Reimagining gene-environment interaction analysis for human complex traits.


Published


  • Noghanibehambari H, JM Fletcher, LL Schmitz, V Duque, V Gawai. (2024). Early-life economic conditions and old-age mortality: Evidence from historical county-level bank deposit data. Journal of Population Economics.

  • Choi JJ, RL Koscik, EM Jonaitis, DJ Panyard, AR Morrow, SC Johnson, CD Engelman, LL Schmitz. (2023). Assessing the biological mechanisms linking smoking behavior and cognitive function: A mediation analysis of untargeted metabolomics. Metabolites. (link)

  • Duque V and LL Schmitz. (2023). The influence of early-life economic shocks on long-term outcomes: Evidence from the U.S. Great Depression. Journal of Human Resources. (link).

Profiled by The Center for Retirement Research

  • Schmitz LL, S Merkin, W Zhao, S Ratliff, Y Liu, J Ding, JA Smith, T Seeman. (2023). Early life adversity associations with later life epigenetic profiles: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). American Journal of Epidemiology. (link)

Profiled by The Cap Times and Wisconsin Public Radio

  • Schmitz LL and V Duque. (2022). In utero exposure to the Great Depression is reflected in late-life epigenetic aging signatures. PNAS. (link)

Profiled by Nature, Fortune, BBC News Health Check

  • Miao J, Y Lin, Y Wu, B Zheng, LL Schmitz, JM Fletcher, Q Lu. (2022). A quantile integral linear model to quantify genetic effects on phenotypic variability. PNAS. (link)

  • Fiorito G, S Pedron, CO Rosales, C McCrory.…Schmitz LL.…Lifepath consortium, P Vineis, C Carmeli. (2022). The role of epigenetic clocks in explaining educational inequalities in mortality: a multi-cohort study and meta-analysis. The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. (link)

  • Schmitz LL, W Zhao, SM Ratliff, J Goodwin, J Miao, Q Lu, Y Liu, M Levine, JA Smith. (2021). The socioeconomic gradient in epigenetic ageing clocks: Evidence from the Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and the Health and Retirement Study. Epigenetics. (link)

  • Schmitz LL, J Goodwin, J Miao, Q Lu, D Conley. (2021). The impact of late-career job loss and genetic risk on body mass index: Evidence from variance polygenic scores. Scientific Reports. (link)

  • Gard AM, EB Ware, LW Hyde, LL Schmitz, J Faul, CM Mitchell. (2021). Phenotypic and genetic markers of psychopathology in a population-based sample of older adults. Translational Psychiatry. (link)

  • Liu Z, D Leung, K Thrush, S Ratliff, W Zhao, T Toshiko, LL Schmitz, JA Smith, L Ferrucci, M Levine. (2020). Underlying features of epigenetic aging clocks in vivo and in vitro. Aging Cell. (link)

  • Schmitz LL, AM Gard, EB Ware. (2019). Examining sex differences in pleiotropic effects for depression and smoking using polygenic and gene-region aggregation techniques. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics. (link)

  • Schmitz LL, C McCluney, MT Hicken, A Sonnega. (2019). Interpreting subjective and objective measures of job resources: The importance of sociodemographic context. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. (link)

  • McCluney C, LL Schmitz, MT Hicken, A Sonnega. (2018). Structural racism in the workplace: Does perception matter for health inequalities? Social Science and Medicine. (link)

  • Schmitz LL and D Conley. (2017). The effect of Vietnam-Era conscription and genetic potential for educational attainment on schooling outcomes. Economics of Education Review. (link)

  • Schmitz LL and D Conley. (2017). Modeling gene-environment interactions with quasi-natural experiments. Journal of Personality. (link)

  • Schmitz LL. (2016). Do working conditions at older ages shape the health gradient? Journal of Health Economics. (link)

  • Schmitz LL and D Conley. (2015). The long-term effects of Vietnam-Era conscription and genotype on smoking behavior and health. Behavior Genetics. (link)


Work in Progress


  • Schmitz LL, I Kohler, J MacIsaac, J Mwera, B Kumwenda, V Mwapasa, KGH Katundu, M Kobor, HP Kohler. Assessment of dried blood spots for DNA methylation profiling and epigenetic aging biomarkers in the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health.

  • Gawai V, V Duque, J Lee, LL Schmitz. The Green Revolution and aging in India.

  • S Basu, J Fletcher, Q Lu, J Miao, Schmitz LL. Understanding the role of genetic heterogeneity in smoking interventions: Experimental evidence from the Lung Health Study.

  • Venechuk G and LL Schmitz. The effect of state-level recession intensity on accelerated epigenetic aging: Evidence from the 2008-2010 Great Recession.

  • Schmitz LL, W Zhao, SM Ratliff, JA Smith. An epigenetic biomarker of socioeconomic status is predictive of future morbidity and mortality.

  • Alemu R and LL Schmitz. The impact of polygenic risk and cigarette taxation across the life course on smoking behavior.

  • Basu S J Fletcher, LL Schmitz. Association between fertility decisions and epigenetic clocks of aging: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study.

  • Bruns A, LL Schmitz, and MT Hicken. Racial inequalities in poor birth outcomes: Clarifying the role of precarious work.

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