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Childhood Adversity Associated with Accelerated Biological Aging in Men and Women
21 Pages Posted: 24 Feb 2023
More...Abstract
Background: The sex differences in the association of childhood adversity with biological aging and the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. This study aims to examine 1) the association of childhood adversity with telomere length (TL), a known biological aging indicator; 2) whether sex modifies the association; and 3) whether unhealthy lifestyle and depression mediate the association.
Methods: A lifespan analysis was conducted using data on 142,872 participants from the UK Biobank. Childhood adversity was assessed through the online mental health questionnaire (2016), including physical neglect, physical abuse, emotional neglect, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse, and a cumulative score was constructed. TL was measured from leukocyte DNA using quantitative PCR, and the shorter TL indicates accelerated biological aging; an unhealthy lifestyle score was constructed using body mass index, physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking status, and diet; depression was assessed using self-reported depression condition or a hospital diagnosis at the baseline survey. General linear regression and formal mediation analysis were performed.
Findings: Childhood adversity was associated with shorter TL (β: -0·0014; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: -0·0020, -0·0008) after adjusting for covariates including polygenic risk score for TL. The association was modified by sex, such that childhood adversity was associated with shorter TL in women (β: -0·0019; 95% CI: -0·0026, -0·0011), but not in men (β: -0·0005; 95% CI: -0·0015, 0·0005). Unhealthy lifestyle (mediation proportion: 4·1%-18·5%) and depression (5·5%-11·9%) partially mediated the association in women. The mediation proportions were largest for sexual (e.g., unhealthy lifestyle: 18·5%) and physical (11·8%) abuse.
Interpretation: Childhood adversity associated with biological aging in women, and unhealthy lifestyle and depression partially mediated the association. These findings highlighted the importance of behavioral and psychological interventions in promoting healthy aging among women who experienced childhood adversity, particularly sexual and physical abuse.
Funding: National Natural Science Foundation of China (82171584).
Declaration of Interest: None declared.
Keywords: Aging, Childhood adversity, Telomere length, Lifestyle, Depression, Polygenic risk score, Mediation analysis
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