Exposure to parental smoking during pregnancy and handgrip strength in 7-10-year old children

Early-life risk factors, accelerated biological aging and the late-life risk of mortality and morbidity

BACKGROUND

Early-life exposure increases health risks throughout an individual's lifetime. Biological aging is influenced by early-life risks as a key process of disease development, but whether early-life risks could accelerate biological aging and elevate late-life mortality and morbidity risks remains unknown. Knowledge is also limited on the potential moderating role of healthy lifestyle.

METHODS

We investigate associations of three early-life risks around birth, breastfeeding, maternal smoking and birth weight, with biological aging of 202 580 UK Biobank participants (54.9 ± 8.1 years old). Biological aging was quantified as KDM-BA, PhenoAge and frailty. Moderate alcohol intake, no current smoking, healthy diet, BMI <30 kg/m2 and regular physical activity were considered as healthy lifestyles. Mortality and morbidity data were retrieved from health records.

RESULTS

Individual early-life risk factors were robustly associated with accelerated biological aging. A one-unit increase in the 'early-life risk score' integrating the three factors was associated with 0.060 (SE=0.0019) and 0.036-unit (SE = 0.0027) increase in z-scored KDM-BA acceleration and PhenoAge acceleration, respectively, and with 22.3% higher odds (95% CI: 1.185-1.262) of frailty. Increased chronological age and healthy lifestyles could mitigate the accelerations of KDM-BA and PhenoAge, respectively. Associations of early-life risk score with late-life mortality and morbidity were mediated by biological aging (proportions: 5.66-43.12%). KDM-BA and PhenoAge accelerations could significantly mediate the impact on most outcomes except anxiety, and frailty could not mediate the impact on T2D.

CONCLUSION

Biological aging could capture and mediate the late-life health risks stemming from the early-life risks, and could be potentially targeted for healthy longevity promotion.

The effect of a natural disaster on handgrip strength in prepubertal Indian children exposed to a severe cyclone during the prenatal and early postnatal growth

Natural disasters (NDs) experienced by women and their children during prenatal and infant growth may have long-lasting effects on offspring’s development. Handgrip strength (HGS) is one of the measures of muscular strength and an indicator of health status. This study compared HGS in children exposed to cyclone Aila in India during their prenatal and infant growth compared to a control group from a non-affected, adjacent area. The total sample involved 444 boys and 423 girls aged 7–9 years, categorised into 3 groups: prenatally exposed to Aila, exposed to Aila in infancy, and the control group, non-exposed to Aila. Results revealed that prenatally exposed children of both sexes had significantly lower HGS than the controls (at least, p < 0.001 in boys; p < 0.05 in girls). On the other hand, the postnatally exposed boys, but not the girls, showed lower HGS than the controls. A significant effect of a group factor (ND exposure) on HGS was observed even after controlling for confounding variables (age, height, BMI, birth weight, gestational age; at least, p < 0.05). Our findings indicate that prenatal or early postnatal experience of a ND may have association with impaired HGS in prepubertal children.