Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Durham Healthcare System, Durham, North Carolina.
JAMA Pediatr. 2022 Apr 1;176(4):392-399. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.6417.
Biological aging is a distinct construct from health; however, people who age quickly are more likely to experience poor health. Identifying pediatric health conditions associated with accelerated aging could help develop treatment approaches to slow midlife aging and prevent poor health in later life.
To examine the association between 4 treatable health conditions in adolescence and accelerated aging at midlife.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cohort study analyzed data from participants in the Dunedin Study, a longitudinal investigation of health and behavior among a birth cohort born between April 1, 1972, and March 31, 1973, in Dunedin, New Zealand, and followed up until age 45 years. Participants underwent an assessment at age 45 years and had data for at least 1 adolescent health condition (asthma, smoking, obesity, and psychological disorders) and outcome measure (pace of aging, gait speed, brain age, and facial age). Data analysis was performed from February 11 to September 27, 2021.
Asthma, cigarette smoking, obesity, and psychological disorders were assessed at age 11, 13, and 15 years.
The outcome was a midlife aging factor composite score comprising 4 measures of biological aging: pace of aging, gait speed, brain age (specifically, BrainAGE score), and facial age.
A total of 910 participants (459 men [50.4%]) met the inclusion criteria, including an assessment at age 45 years. Participants who had smoked daily (0.61 [95% CI, 0.43-0.79] SD units), had obesity (0.82 [95% CI, 0.59-1.06] SD units), or had a psychological disorder diagnosis (0.43 [95% CI, 0.29-0.56] SD units) during adolescence were biologically older at midlife compared with participants without these conditions. Participants with asthma were not biologically older at midlife (0.02 [95% CI, -0.14 to 0.19] SD units) compared with those without asthma. These results remained unchanged after adjusting for childhood risk factors such as poor health, socioeconomic disadvantage, and adverse experiences.
This study found that adolescent smoking, obesity, and psychological disorder diagnoses were associated with older biological age at midlife. These health conditions could be treated during adolescence to reduce the risk of accelerated biological aging later in life.
生物衰老与健康是不同的概念；然而，衰老速度较快的人更有可能出现健康状况不佳。识别与加速衰老相关的儿科健康状况，有助于制定治疗方法来减缓中年衰老速度，并预防晚年健康状况不佳。
研究青春期 4 种可治疗的健康状况与中年加速衰老之间的关系。
设计、环境和参与者：这项队列研究分析了来自达尼丁研究参与者的数据，该研究是一项针对健康和行为的纵向研究，参与者为 1972 年 4 月 1 日至 1973 年 3 月 31 日期间在新西兰达尼丁出生的队列人群，随访至 45 岁。参与者在 45 岁时进行了评估，并且至少有 1 项青少年健康状况（哮喘、吸烟、肥胖和心理障碍）和结局指标（衰老速度、步态速度、大脑年龄和面部年龄）的数据。数据分析于 2021 年 2 月 11 日至 9 月 27 日进行。
哮喘、吸烟、肥胖和心理障碍在 11、13 和 15 岁时进行评估。
结果是一个中年衰老因素综合评分，包括 4 项生物衰老指标：衰老速度、步态速度、大脑年龄（具体为 BrainAGE 评分）和面部年龄。
共有 910 名参与者（459 名男性[50.4%]）符合纳入标准，包括在 45 岁时进行评估。与没有这些条件的参与者相比，青春期有规律吸烟（0.61[95%CI，0.43-0.79]标准差单位）、肥胖（0.82[95%CI，0.59-1.06]标准差单位）或心理障碍诊断（0.43[95%CI，0.29-0.56]标准差单位）的参与者在中年时生物学上更老。与没有哮喘的参与者相比，有哮喘的参与者在中年时的生物学年龄没有增加（0.02[95%CI，-0.14 至 0.19]标准差单位）。在调整了儿童时期的健康风险因素（如健康状况不佳、社会经济劣势和不良经历）后，这些结果仍然不变。
这项研究发现，青春期吸烟、肥胖和心理障碍诊断与中年时的生物学年龄较大有关。这些健康状况可以在青春期得到治疗，以降低晚年加速生物衰老的风险。
