AHA: High Cardiovascular Health Linked to Lower Phenotypic Age

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 8, 2023 (HealthDay News) — There is an inverse association for cardiovascular health (CVH) with phenotypic age (PhenoAge) and phenotypic age acceleration (PhenoAgeAccel), according to a study to be presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2023, held from Nov. 11 to 13 in Philadelphia.

Rahul Hosalili, from the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City, and colleagues examined the associations of CVH, based on the enhanced Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) framework, with PhenoAge and PhenoAgeAccel in 6,593 men and women from the 2015 to 2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. PhenoAge was computed from nine biological markers and chronological age; the difference between PhenoAge and chronological age was PhenoAgeAccel, with higher positive values indicating faster biological aging.

The researchers found that participants with high and low CVH had negative and positive PhenoAgeAccel, respectively (−4.20 and 2.36, respectively). Lower PhenoAge and PhenoAgeAccel were seen in association with each 10-unit increase in the LE8 score (β = −4.82 and −1.80, respectively) and with high versus low CVH (β = −17.15 and −6.08, respectively). Negative PhenoAgeAccel was seen in association with being in the highest versus the lowest tertile of all LE8 metrics. Lower PhenoAgeAccel was also seen in relation to being in the highest versus the lowest tertile of physical activity, body mass index, glucose, blood lipids, and blood pressure scores.

“Greater adherence to all Life’s Essential 8 metrics and improving your cardiovascular health can slow down your body’s aging process and have a lot of benefits down the line,” senior author Nour Makarem, Ph.D., also from the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, said in a statement.

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