A novel approach to quantifying individual's biological aging using Korea's national health screening program toward precision public health

Accurate prediction of biological age can inform public health measures to extend healthy lifespans and reduce chronic conditions. Multiple theoretical models and methods have been developed; however, their applicability and accuracy are still not extensive. Here, we report Differential Aging and Health Index (DAnHI), a novel measure of age deviation, developed using physical and serum biomarkers from four million individuals in Korea's National Health Screening Program. Participants were grouped into aging statuses (< 26 vs. ≥ 26, < 27 vs. ≥ 27, …, < 75 vs. ≥ 75 years) as response variables in a binary logistic regression model with thirteen biomarkers as independent variables. DAnHI for each individual was calculated as the weighted mean of their relative probabilities of being classified into each older age status, based on model ages ranging from 26 to 75. DAnHI in our large study population showed a steady increase with the increase in age and was positively associated with death after adjusting for chronological age. However, the effect size of DAnHI on the risk of death varied according to the age group and sex. The hazard ratio was highest in the 50-59-year age group and then decreased as the individuals aged. This study demonstrates that routine health check-up biomarkers can be integrated into a quantitative measure for predicting aging-related health status and death via appropriate statistical models and methodology. Our DAnHI-based results suggest that the same level of aging-related health status does not indicate the same degree of risk for death.

Social mobility and biological aging among older adults in the United States

Lower socioeconomic status is associated with faster biological aging, the gradual and progressive decline in system integrity that accumulates with advancing age. Efforts to promote upward social mobility may, therefore, extend healthy lifespan. However, recent studies suggest that upward mobility may also have biological costs related to the stresses of crossing social boundaries. We tested associations of life-course social mobility with biological aging using data from participants in the 2016 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) Venous Blood Study who provided blood-chemistry (n = 9,255) and/or DNA methylation (DNAm) data (n = 3,976). We quantified social mobility from childhood to later-life using data on childhood family characteristics, educational attainment, and wealth accumulation. We quantified biological aging using 3 DNAm "clocks" and 3 blood-chemistry algorithms. We observed substantial social mobility among study participants. Those who achieved upward mobility exhibited less-advanced and slower biological aging. Associations of upward mobility with less-advanced and slower aging were consistent for blood-chemistry and DNAm measures of biological aging, and were similar for men and women and for Black and White Americans (Pearson-r effect-sizes ∼0.2 for blood-chemistry measures and the DNAm GrimAge clock and DunedinPoAm pace-of-aging measures; effect-sizes were smaller for the DNAm PhenoAge clock). Analysis restricted to educational mobility suggested differential effects by racial identity; mediating links between educational mobility and healthy aging may be disrupted by structural racism. In contrast, mobility producing accumulation of wealth appeared to benefit White and Black Americans equally, suggesting economic intervention to reduce wealth inequality may have potential to heal disparities in healthy aging.

Accelerated Aging of T-cell Subsets among ART-Naïve HIV-Infected Chinese Men who Have Sex with Men: A Case-control Study

BACKGROUND

Evidence of lymphopoiesis, exhaustion, and premature aging in Chinese patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is very limited.

OBJECTIVE

To assess biological aging and immune senescence in Chinese healthy controls (HC) and ART-naïve HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM).

METHODS

This case-control study was conducted in Beijing Ditan Hospital from March 2018 to June 2019. The percentages of naïve (TN), central memory (TCM), effector memory (TEM), and terminally differentiated memory (TemRA) subsets of CD4 and CD8 T cells were studied, along with markers of senescence (CD28-CD57+) and activation (HLA-DR+). Telomere length of naïve (CD45RA+) and memory (CD45RO+) CD8 T cells was quantified by real-time PCR.

RESULTS

A total of 26 HIV-infected and 20 age-matched HC MSM were included. Compared to HC group, CD4/CD8 ratio of HIV-infected group was significantly reduced (0.30 vs. 1.70, P<0.001); significant differences emerged among all CD8 but not CD4 T cell subsets (all P<0.05). In HIV-infected group, the percentages of senescent cells (CD28-CD57+) in TN, TCM, TEM, and TemRA subsets of CD8 T cells were higher (all P<0.05); while a significant difference was only found in naïve CD4 T cells (P<0.05). HLA-DR expression was increased significantly in all CD4 and CD8 T cell subsets. Both naïve (CD45RA+) and memory (CD45RO+) CD8 T cells in this population had significantly shorter telomere length (P<0.01) compared to HC group.

CONCLUSION

HIV-infected MSM exhibit signs of accelerated immune senescence and biological aging, which particularly affects the CD8 T-cell subsets.

Epigenetic Clock Analysis in Children With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

BACKGROUND

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is characterized by severe clinical impairment, considerable social burden, and high mortality and morbidity, which are due to various malformations, sepsis, and cancer. As >50% of deaths from FASD occur during the first year of life, we hypothesized that there is the acceleration of biological aging in FASD. Several recent studies have established genome-wide DNA methylation (DNAm) profiles as "epigenetic clocks" that can estimate biological aging, and FASD has been associated with differential DNAm patterns. Therefore, we tested this hypothesis using epigenetic clocks.

METHODS

We investigated 5 DNAm-based measures of epigenetic age (HorvathAge, HannumAge, SkinBloodAge, PhenoAge, and GrimAge) and telomere length (DNAmTL) using 4 independent publicly available DNAm datasets; 2 datasets were derived from buccal epithelium, and the other 2 datasets were derived from peripheral blood.

RESULTS

Compared with controls, children with FASD exhibited an acceleration of GrimAge in 1 buccal and 2 blood datasets. No significant difference was found in other DNAm ages and DNAmTL. Meta-analyses showed a significant acceleration of GrimAge in the blood samples but not in the buccal samples.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides novel evidence regarding accelerated epigenetic aging in children with FASD.

Biological aspects of menopause: across the lifespan

"This review outlines the biological basics of menopause and then places menopause within the context of a dynamic lifespan. The basic tenets of the lifespan approach maintain that, for each individual, aging and development are lifelong processes from birth to death; biological, psychological, and sociocultural trajectories interweave across the life course; the entire lifespan serves as a frame of reference for understanding particular events or transitions; and the life course can be affected by environmental change.... This review also points to the gap between population-level studies of menopause and studies carried out at the biochemical, cellular, or organ systems level. Filling this gap...offers the most interesting directions for future anthropological research."

Efficacy of a composite biological age score to predict ten-year survival among Kansas and Nebraska Mennonites

In 1980 and 1981 Mennonite descendants of a group of Russian immigrants participated in a multidisciplinary study of biological aging. The Mennonites live in Goessel, Kansas, and Henderson, Nebraska. In 1991 the survival status of the participants was documented by each church secretary. Data are available for 1009 individuals, 177 of whom are now deceased. They ranged from 20 to 95 years in age when the data were collected. Biological ages were computed using a stepwise multiple regression procedure based on 38 variables previously identified as being related to survival, with chronological age as the dependent variable. Standardized residuals place participants in either a predicted-younger or a predicted-older group. The independence of the variables biological age and survival status is tested with the chi-square statistic. The significance of biological age differences between surviving and deceased Mennonites is determined by t test values. The two statistics provide consistent results. Predicted age group classification and survival status are related. The group of deceased participants is generally predicted to be older than the group of surviving participants, although neither statistic is significant for all subgroups of Mennonites. In most cases, however, individuals in the predicted-older groups are at a relatively higher risk of dying compared with those in the predicted-younger groups, although the increased risk is not always significant.

[Active life expectancy in Taiwan: compression or expansion?]

"This paper applies the multiple-decrement life table to the analysis of mortality and self-reported disability [for Taiwan], annually from 1986 until 1989.... It was found that during this period of time, the shifts in 'mortality' and 'disability' curves conform to the compression hypothesis. The area in between the two curves [has] shrunk in the 4 year period.... The sex differential in disability has been examined. It is concluded that though at the younger ages women tend to spend less person-years in disability, the situation is quite different at older ages. Women tend to have greater chance [of] and longer duration suffering from disability at old age than men." (SUMMARY IN ENG)

The epidemiology of classic, African, and immunosuppressed Kaposi's sarcoma

The etiology of Kaposi's sarcoma remains somewhat obscure. While lesions of classic Kaposi's sarcoma, African Kaposi's sarcoma, and immunosuppressed Kaposi's sarcoma have been found to be indistinguishable from one another, the reasons for the variations in type and severity have not been established. The origin of the spindle cell is yet to be agreed on. Geographic variation does not seem as important as ethnic variation. The very young and the very old, perhaps two ages of weakened immunity, tend to have a higher incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma. Children and AIDS patients tend to develop more virulent disease. Males tend to get Kaposi's sarcoma at higher rates than do females. Jewish and Mediterranean males have the highest incidence of classic Kaposi's sarcoma, and African Bantu have the highest incidence of African Kaposi's sarcoma, classifications which do not apply to the Kaposi's sarcoma population in the United States. Male homosexuals have much higher incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma than do male heterosexuals, but since the early 1980s, its incidence as the presenting manifestation of AIDS has decreased dramatically. There is no unequivocal association with HLA haplotype (though DR5 carriers may be at especially high risk) or evidence of family clustering. There is an impressive but not always consistent association between Kaposi's sarcoma development and immunodeficiency. Environmental factors, such as nitrite use, immunosuppression, and repeated cytomegalovirus infection, are associated with Kaposi's sarcoma, but the exact mechanism is unclear and the associations remain inconsistent. Finally, it is still unclear if there is a causative infectious agent for Kaposi's sarcoma. While cytomegalovirus has been linked to Kaposi's sarcoma, there are weaknesses in its hypothetical role as an etiologic agent as is the case for HIV itself.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Debilitation's aftermath: stochastic process models of mortality

A stochastic differential equation model is developed to clarify the interaction of debilitation, recuperation, selection, and aging. The model yields various insights about the lingering mortality consequences of disasters such as wars, famines, and epidemics that may weaken the survivors. A key result is that debilitation and selection are interdependent: debilitation that increases population heterogeneity will result in subsequent selection; selection, by altering the distribution of population heterogeneity, will influence the impact of debilitating events.

Reproductive potential in the older woman

There is a definite increase in the number of women bearing children in the 30- and 40-year-old age groups. The total number of women who are 35 to 40 years of age in the United States is projected to increase 42% and the percent births to this age group is projected to increase 37%. This is apparently because of a trend to postpone childbearing and first birth due to women's career priorities, advanced education, control over fertility, financial concerns, late and second marriages, and infertility. Associated with this is an increase in visits to the infertility specialist for older women who have an intrinsic decrease in fecundity with advancing age. Although, on the average, a woman will not experience menopause until about 50 years of age, her effective childbearing period may stop almost a decade earlier. A woman in her late 30s and, especially, early 40s is at some disadvantage in terms of conception delay, ability to carry a chromosomally normal fetus until term, and risk of trisomic conception. Certain endocrinologic parameters have been identified for the woman entering the transition to menopause. Biologic aging of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis is intertwined with changes in the endocrine milieu of the perimenopause and preperimenopause. Despite a clear association of decreased fecundity in older women due to multiple biologic and social influences, so long as the individual has regular cycles and essentially normal endocrine parameters, she should be a candidate for an expedited infertility workup and ovulation induction, if not more aggressive treatment. Her obstetric profile is much improved, except for an increase in congenital anomalies and chromosomal defects. Chorionic villus biopsy study or amniocentesis is advised in all cases, regardless of therapy.

Aged gametes, adverse pregnancy outcomes and natural family planning. An epidemiologic review

Unconfirmed epidemiologic studies suggest a possible increased risk of birth defects associated with Natural Family Planning (NFP) use, and an increased incidence of spontaneous abortion or frequency of chromosomal abnormalities in abortuses associated with conceptions outside the most "fertile period". The risk is approximately two- to four-fold, but the evidence is by no means conclusive. The implication for NFP depends on the frequency of method failures in user populations, but is not likely to constitute a major hazard. Further research could utilize a data bank of NFP charts.

Spontaneous abortion incidence in the treatment of infertility

Analysis of published series indicates that, irrespective of the method of data collection, close agreement exists on empirically derived incidences of spontaneous abortion in North American populations, provided that age, previous abortion history, and gravidity are controlled. The normal incidence of clinically apparent abortion among first pregnancies in women under age 30 years is in the range 8.3% to 11.0%. A comprehensive analysis of published series on pregnancies after infertility treatment indicates that only three therapeutic methods are attended by an abortion incidence that approaches this asymptote: ovulation induction with bromocriptine in hyperprolactinemic anovulation (11.8%; n = 1,233 pregnancies); artificial insemination with donor semen for azoospermia (11.4%; n = 326 first pregnancies); and operation for endometriosis (9.3%; n = 768 pregnancies). Abortion incidences accompanying other modes of therapy are higher. Because increased abortion incidence is not generally recognized as a specific reproductive difficulty in infertile couples, as are the other two: i.e., refractory infertility despite technically adequate therapy and ectopic pregnancy, plausible physiologic mechanisms for abortions in specific categories of disease or treatment type are described and discussed in detail. Moreover, abortion incidence is proposed to be a sensitive and objective parameter with which to assess distortions in human reproductive physiology, especially when competing methods of infertility treatment have overall pregnancy outcomes that are thought to be similar.

Induction of relaxin secretion in nonpregnant women by human chorionic gonadotropin

Five normal women using barrier forms of contraception has serum samples drawn every 2 days during control menstrual cycles. Relaxin was not detectable in their serum. All five subjects then received 2500 IU hCG im every 2 days beginning 8--10 days after presumed ovulation. All had immunoreactive relaxin detectable in serum 2--6 days after the first hCG injection. Relaxin rose to pregnancy levels (range, 0.26--0.62 ng/ml; mean, 0.38 +/- 0.17 ng/ml) by cycle day 31 and then declined before menstruation. Progesterone levels and cycle lengths of relaxin-secreting cycles were significantly higher (P less than 0.05) than control cycles. Three of the five subjects subsequently received 2500 IU hCG im every 2 days commencing 2--3 days after presumed ovulation until menstruation. Relaxin was not detectable in these cycles. hCG can induce relaxin secretion in nonpregnant women. A hCG stimulus which can induce relaxin secretion from an 8- to 10-day-old corpus luteum cannot induce relaxin secretion in a 2- to 3-day-old corpus luteum, suggesting that the age of the human corpus luteum of the menstrual cycle is an important determinant of responsiveness to hCG.

Spontaneous abortion and aging of human ova and spermatozoa

To test the hypothesis that aging of human gametes within the genital tract increases the chance of abortion, we measured the probabilities of abortion after insemination on a given day of the menstrual cycle in relation to the day of the shift in the basal body temperature in 965 patients. Cases came from family-planning and sterility clinics where basal body temperature and coital records are kept routinely. The probability of abortion diminished significantly (P less than 0.001) as the shift in temperature was approached and the increased to its highest point (24 per cent) three days later. Animal experiments have shown that aging of both spermatozoa and ova before fertilization is accompanied by higher probabilities of abortion. Present evidence indicates that this higher prevalence is also true for human beings.