Associations among NMR-measured inflammatory and metabolic biomarkers and accelerated aging in cardiac catheterization patients

Research into aging has grown substantially with the creation of molecular biomarkers of biological age that can be used to determine age acceleration. Concurrently, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) assessment of biomarkers of inflammation and metabolism provides researchers with new ways to examine intermediate risk factors for chronic disease. We used data from a cardiac catheterization cohort to examine associations between biomarkers of cardiometabolic health and accelerated aging assessed using both gene expression (Transcriptomic Age) and DNA methylation (Hannum Age, GrimAge, Horvath Age, and Phenotypic Age). Linear regression models were used to associate accelerated aging with each outcome (cardiometabolic health biomarkers) while adjusting for chronological age, sex, race, and neighborhood socioeconomic status. Our study shows a robust association between GlycA and GrimAge (5.71, 95% CI = 4.36, 7.05, P = 7.94 × 10^-16), Hannum Age (1.81, 95% CI = 0.65, 2.98, P = 2.30 × 10^-3), and Phenotypic Age (2.88, 95% CI = 1.91, 3.87, P = 1.21 × 10^-8). We also saw inverse associations between apolipoprotein A-1 and aging biomarkers. These associations provide insight into the relationship between aging and cardiometabolic health that may be informative for vulnerable populations.