Dietary inflammatory index and depressive symptoms as mediators between social disadvantage and accelerated...

Socially disadvantaged populations are at higher risk for adverse health outcomes. Psychosocial and lifestyle factors may serve as key pathways linking socioeconomic status to biological aging. However, evidence regarding the relationship between social disadvantage and accelerated aging remains limited. This study aimed to investigate the association between social disadvantage and accelerated phenotypic aging, and to further examine the mediating roles of the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) and depression symptom scores. A total of 5747 participants from the 2005-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were included. Weighted logistic regression models were used to assess the association between social disadvantage and accelerated phenotypic aging, while mediation analyses evaluated the indirect effects of DII and depressive symptoms. After multivariable adjustment, social disadvantage was significantly associated with a 41 % increased risk of accelerated phenotypic aging (OR = 1.41, 95 % CI: 1.08-1.83, P = 0.013). Mediation analyses revealed that both DII and depressive symptoms significantly mediated this association, accounting for 11.3 % and 20.1 % of the total effect, respectively (both P < 0.001). The association between social disadvantage and accelerated aging was generally consistent across subgroups, except among individuals with cardiovascular disease (CVD) (P for interaction < 0.05). Sensitivity analyses based on multiple imputation or using PhenoAgeAccel as a continuous outcome yielded similar results. These findings suggest that social disadvantage increases the risk of accelerated phenotypic aging, potentially mediated in part by pro-inflammatory dietary patterns and depressive symptoms.