HOMA-IR is positively correlated with biological age and advanced aging in the US adult population

Insulin resistance (IR) had been reported to be associated with age; however, few studies have explored the association between IR and biological age (BA). The HOMA-IR value is a useful indicator of the extent of IR. This cross-sectional study is to explore the relationship between HOMA-IR and BA/advanced aging in the US population.

This study is a cross-sectional analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. The survey comprised 12,266 people from the NHANES, and their full HOMA-IR data as well as BA data were extracted. Four multiple linear regressions were performed to analyze the association between HOMA-IR and BA, and four multiple logistic regression models were performed to analyze the association between HOMA-IR and advanced aging. In addition, trend tests and stratified analysis were performed and smoothed fitted curves were plotted to test the robustness of the results.

HOMA-IR was positively correlated with BA [β: 0.51 (0.39, 0.63)], and it was the same to advanced aging [OR: 1.05 (1.02, 1.07)], and both showed a monotonically increasing trend. The trend tests showed that the results were stable (all P for trend < 0.0001). The smoothed fitted curves showed that there were non-linear relationships between HOMA-IR and BA/advanced aging. And the stratified analysis indicated that the relationship between HOMA-IR and BA/advanced aging remained robust in all subgroups.

The study suggested that HOMA-IR is positively correlated with BA and advanced aging in the US adult population, with a monotonic upward trend. This is a new finding to reveal the relationship between HOMA-IR and age from new standpoint of BA rather than chronological age (CA). And it may contribute to a better understanding of human health aging and may aid future research in this field.