A1 Journal article (refereed)
The role of adolescent lifestyle habits in biological aging : A prospective twin study (2022)
Kankaanpää, A., Tolvanen, A., Heikkinen, A., Kaprio, J., Ollikainen, M., & Sillanpää, E. (2022). The role of adolescent lifestyle habits in biological aging : A prospective twin study. eLife, 11, Article e80729. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.80729
JYU authors or editors
Publication details
All authors or editors: Kankaanpää, Anna; Tolvanen, Asko; Heikkinen, Aino; Kaprio, Jaakko; Ollikainen, Miina; Sillanpää, Elina
Journal or series: eLife
eISSN: 2050-084X
Publication year: 2022
Publication date: 08/11/2022
Volume: 11
Article number: e80729
Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Publication country: United Kingdom
Publication language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.80729
Publication open access: Openly available
Publication channel open access: Open Access channel
Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/83827
Web address of parallel published publication (pre-print): https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.30.22275761v1
Abstract
can have long-term effects on health in later life. This study aims to investigate the role of adolescent lifestyle in biological aging.
Methods: The study participants originated from the longitudinal FinnTwin12 study (n = 5114).
Adolescent lifestyle-related factors, including body mass index (BMI), leisure-time physical activity,
smoking, and alcohol use, were based on self-reports and measured at ages 12, 14, and 17 years.
For a subsample, blood-based DNA methylation (DNAm) was used to assess biological aging with
six epigenetic aging measures in young adulthood (21–25 years, n = 824). A latent class analysis was
conducted to identify patterns of lifestyle behaviors in adolescence, and differences between the
subgroups in later biological aging were studied. Genetic and environmental influences on biological
aging shared with lifestyle behavior patterns were estimated using quantitative genetic modeling.
Results: We identified five subgroups of participants with different adolescent lifestyle behavior
patterns. When DNAm GrimAge, DunedinPoAm, and DunedinPACE estimators were used, the class
with the unhealthiest lifestyle and the class of participants with high BMI were biologically older than
the classes with healthier lifestyle habits. The differences in lifestyle-related factors were maintained
into young adulthood. Most of the variation in biological aging shared with adolescent lifestyle was
explained by common genetic factors.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that an unhealthy lifestyle during pubertal years is associated
with accelerated biological aging in young adulthood. Genetic pleiotropy may largely explain the
observed associations.
Keywords: young people; young adults; youth; puberty; lifestyle habits; lifestyle; genome; health behaviour; physical activity
Contributing organizations
Related projects
- Investigating causal interactions between physical activity and cardiometabolic disease via polygenic risk scores
- Sillanpää, Elina
- Research Council of Finland
- Investigating causal interactions between physical activity and cardiometabolic disease via polygenic risk scores (GenActive)
- Sillanpää, Elina
- Research Council of Finland
Ministry reporting: Yes
VIRTA submission year: 2022
JUFO rating: 2