Higher spermidine intake is linked to lower mortality: a prospective population-based study.

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Epidemiology
• Gerontology
• Public Health

Background:

• Spermidine administration has demonstrated increased survival rates in multiple animal models.
• Understanding the impact of dietary spermidine on human health and longevity is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential association between dietary spermidine content and human mortality.
• To evaluate the relationship between spermidine intake and all-cause mortality in a human cohort.

Main Methods:

• A prospective community-based cohort study involving 829 participants aged 45-84 years.
• Dietary intake, including spermidine content, was assessed using validated food-frequency questionnaires over multiple years (1995-2010).
• Mortality data was collected through a 20-year follow-up period (1995-2015).

Main Results:

• All-cause mortality decreased significantly with increasing thirds of spermidine intake.
• Higher spermidine intake was associated with a reduced hazard ratio (HR) for all-cause death (HR=0.74 per 1-SD increase, P < 0.001), even after adjusting for confounders.
• The observed association was robust, consistent across subgroups, and independently validated in another cohort.

Conclusions:

• Findings provide epidemiologic evidence supporting a link between spermidine-rich nutrition and increased human survival.
• Dietary spermidine may represent a modifiable factor for promoting longevity and reducing mortality risk.