Healthy Eating Index, Epigenetic Age Acceleration and Mortality Risk in US Adults.
Eating a higher-quality diet correlates with slower biological aging and longer survival, with cellular aging mechanisms explaining roughly half of this diet-longevity benefit.
Analyzing NHANES (n=2158) and HRS (n=1752) cohorts, this NIA/NIH study demonstrates that higher diet quality is associated with lower epigenetic age acceleration (GrimAgeEAA) and reduced all-cause mortality, with epigenetic mechanisms accounting for ~44% of the diet-mortality benefit in HRS. Physical activity confounds these associations, highlighting the importance of integrated behavioral-biological pathways in aging research.
What the study was
- Study design
- Prospective cohort study (two cohorts: NHANES and HRS)
- Population
- US adults in NHANES (n=2158) and HRS (n=1752)
- Sample size
- 3910
- Category
- Prevention
- Maturity
- Validated
- Journal
- Aging Cell
Why it surfaced
Large two-cohort NIA/NIH study in Aging Cell; GrimAge epigenetic clock is established instrument; diet-epigenetic aging-mortality pathway adds mechanistic support to dietary guidance; observational design limits causality.
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