Cardiometabolic Index Correlates with Accelerated Biological Age
The research community is steadily accumulating data on the relationship between aging clocks to assess biological age and existing measures of disease and dysfunction. For example, cardiometabolic index is a combined measure of obesity and lipid metabolism dysfunction, and associated with age-related metabolic diseases and consequent mortality. We should expect a good approach to assessing biological age to tend to produce higher biological ages in patients with a higher cardiometabolic index, and researchers here show that this is the case for the Klemera and Doubal aging clock.
The cardiometabolic index (CMI) combines clinical measures of triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and waist-height ratio. CMI has been related to several metabolic disorders, including diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, ischemic stroke, and hypertension. Several studies have investigated the clinical significance of CMI in metabolic disorders, and more significant increases in CMI over time were significantly associated with a greater risk for subsequent cardiovascular events.
Cross-sectional data were obtained from participants with comprehensive CMI and biological age data in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2011 to 2018. Biological age acceleration (BioAgeAccel) is calculated as the differences between biological age (determined via the Klemera and Doubal method) and chronological age. Weighted multivariable regression, sensitivity analysis, and smoothing curve fitting were performed to explore the independent association between CMI and the acceleration of biological age. Subgroup and interaction analyses were performed to investigate whether this association was consistent across populations.
In 4,282 subjects ≥ 20 years of age, there was a positive relationship between CMI and biological age. The BioAgeAccel increased 1.16 years for each unit CMI increase, and increased 0.99 years for per standard deviation increase in CMI. Participants in the highest CMI quartile had a BioAgeAccel that was 2.49 years higher than participants in the lowest CMI quartile. In stratified studies, the positive correlation between CMI and biological age acceleration was not consistent across strata. This positive correlation was stronger in female, diabetic patients, and non-hypertensive populations.