Modifiable lifestyle factors and 4.9-Year changes in phenotypic age in the Taiwan biobank

Phenotypic age (PhenoAge) is a composite biomarker that reflects biological aging by integrating indicators of immune, metabolic, liver, and kidney function.

Using 4.9 years of follow-up data from 69,462 participants in the Taiwan Biobank, this study investigated lifestyle and environmental factors associated with changes in PhenoAge (ΔPhenoAge: follow-up minus baseline).

Partial correlation analysis was first applied to evaluate 43 lifestyle factors. Fifteen factors were positively correlated with ΔPhenoAge, with obesity-related indices showing the strongest correlations. Nine factors were inversely correlated, including employment status and dietary habits. These variables were further evaluated using best-subset regression to identify the most relevant factors. In multivariable analyses, ΔPhenoAge in men was associated with living alone, higher body fat percentage, and larger waist circumference. In women, ΔPhenoAge was associated with daily supplement use, eating supper within 1 h of bedtime, and higher body mass index. Exposure to incense burning was associated with higher ΔPhenoAge in both sexes. Conversely, reduced consumption of fried foods, greater variety of vegetables, lower meat intake, and staying at the same job throughout the career were associated with lower ΔPhenoAge.

These results suggest that several modifiable factors are associated with changes in biological aging, highlighting the importance of lifestyle for healthy aging.