Scientists identify 8 lifestyle factors that can slow biological aging

Recent research indicates that maintaining a heart-healthy lifestyle can positively impact biological aging and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and related mortality. The study focused on DNA methylation as a key mediator in this process. Analyzing data from the Framingham Heart Study, results highlighted that improvements in lifestyle factors could significantly reduce cardiovascular risks, particularly in individuals genetically predisposed to accelerated aging. This knowledge emphasizes the role of lifestyle modifications in promoting cardiovascular health and longevity.

A new study suggests that higher lifestyle scores may be linked to a positive impact on heart disease risk factors, potentially influencing the aging process of the body and its cells.

New research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association suggests that adopting heart-healthy lifestyle factors can benefit heart health by positively influencing biological aging, which refers to the age of the body and its cells.

“Our study results tell us that regardless of your actual age, better heart-healthy behaviors and better management of heart disease risk factors were associated with younger biological age and lower risk of the disease. heart disease and stroke, death from heart disease and stroke, and death from any cause,” said Jiantao Ma, Ph.D., lead author of the study and assistant professor in the division in nutritional epidemiology and data science at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston.

The role of DNA methylation in cardiovascular health

This research examined whether DNA Methylation, a chemical process that controls gene expression, could be one way that factors related to cardiovascular health influence cellular aging and mortality risk. DNA methylation levels are one of the main biomarkers for assessing biological age. While genetics largely determine biological age, it can also be affected by lifestyle choices and stress.

Researchers examined health data from 5,682 adults (mean age 56; 56% of participants were women) enrolled in the Framingham Heart Study, a large, ongoing multigenerational research project aimed at identifying risk factors for cardiac disease. Using interviews, physical exams, and laboratory tests, all participants were assessed using the American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 tool, which assesses 8 lifestyle factors essential for cardiovascular health on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 being best.

This assessment includes four behavioral measures: dietary intake, which focuses on the quality and balance of daily diet; physical activity, which assesses the frequency and intensity of exercise; hours of sleep per night, assessing sleep duration and quality; and smoking status, which identifies tobacco exposure. Additionally, four clinical measures are used: body mass index (BMI), which measures body fat based on height and weight; cholesterol levels, indicating lipid health; blood sugar level, assessment of glycemic control; and blood pressure, monitoring cardiovascular tension. Each participant was also assessed using four tools that estimate biological age based on DNA methylation – a process that affects gene expression – and a fifth tool that assesses tendency genetics of a person to accelerated biological aging. Participants were followed for 11 to 14 years to monitor for new onset of cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular death, or death from any cause.

The analysis revealed:

• For every 13 point increase in an individual's Life's Essential 8 score, the risk of developing heart disease for the first time, was reduced by about 35%, deaths from cardiovascular disease were reduced by 36%, and deaths from all causes were reduced by 29%.
• In participants with a genetic risk profile making them more likely to have accelerated biological age, Life's Essential 8 score had a greater impact on outcomes potentially via DNA methylation, i.e. say that DNA methylation represented a reduction of 39%, 39% and 78%. respectively in the risk of cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular death and death from all causes.
• Overall, approximately 20% of the association between Life's Essential 8 scores and cardiovascular outcomes is estimated to be due to the impact of cardiovascular health factors on DNA methylation; in contrast, for participants with higher genetic risk, the association was almost 40%.

“Although there are a few biological age calculators commercially based on DNA methylation, we don't have a good recommendation on whether people need to know their epigenetic age,” Ma said. “Our message is that everyone should be aware of the eight health factors linked to heart disease and stroke: eating healthy foods; be more active; stop smoking ; sleep healthily; manage weight; and maintain healthy levels of cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure.

Impact of DNA methylation and future research directions

Randi Foraker, Ph.D., MA, FAHA, co-author of Life's Essential 8: Updating and Enhancing the American Heart Association's Construct of Cardiovascular Health, said the findings are consistent with previous research.

“We know that modifiable risk factors and DNA methylation are independently associated with cardiovascular disease. What this study adds is that DNA methylation may mediate between risk factors and cardiovascular disease,” said Foraker, professor of medicine in the Institute for Computing, Data Science and Biostatistics and director of the Center for Population Health Informatics, both at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. “The study highlights the impact of cardiovascular health on biological aging and has important implications for healthy aging and the prevention of cardiovascular disease and potentially other health conditions. »

Study details, context and design:

• The study analyzed health data from a subgroup of participants who attended Framingham Heart Study exams in the descendant group from 2005 to 2008 and in the third generation group from 2008 to 2011.
• Participants were followed for an average of 14 years for the children of the original participants and 11 years for the grandchildren.
• Health outcomes for analysis included development of cardiovascular disease (coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke, or heart failure), death from cardiovascular disease, or death from any cause.
• Results were adjusted for gender, age and alcohol consumption. Results for all-cause death were adjusted for the presence of cancer (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) or heart disease at the time of enrollment. study. Participants already diagnosed with heart disease at the time of study enrollment were excluded from the analysis of new cardiovascular diseases.
• The four tools for measuring epigenetic age scores based on DNA methylation were based on established algorithms for the DunedinPACE score, PhenoAge, DNAmTL and GrimAge. A fifth tool, GrimAge PGS, assessed the genetic tendency toward accelerated biological aging.

Because the study is an analysis of previously collected health data, it cannot prove a cause-and-effect relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and DNA methylation. Additionally, DNA methylation measurements were from a single time point, limiting the validity of the mediation effect. The study results are also limited because participants were predominantly of European ancestry, so the interactions between Life's Essential 8 and genetic aging found in this study may not be generalizable to people of other races or ethnicities.

“Currently, we are expanding our research to include people from other racial and ethnic groups to further study the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and DNA methylation,” Ma said.

Heart disease and stroke claimed more lives in the United States in 2021 than all forms of cancer and chronic diseases, according to the American Heart Association's 2024 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics. lower respiratory tract combined, and also accounted for an estimated 19.91 million deaths worldwide.

Reference: “Epigenetic age mediates the association of the 8 essential elements of life with cardiovascular disease and mortality” by Madeleine Carbonneau, Yi Li, Brenton Prescott, Chunyu Liu, Tianxiao Huan, Roby Joehanes, Joanne M. Murabito, Nancy L. Heard‐Costa, Vanessa Xanthakis, Daniel Levy and Jiantao Ma, May 29, 2024, Journal of the American Heart Association.
DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.123.032743