Pregnancy Accelerates Biological Aging | Disabled World

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Pregnancy can come at a cost, reports a new study from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. The research, conducted among 1,735 young people in the Philippines, shows that women who reported having been pregnant appeared biologically older than women who had never been pregnant, and women who had been pregnant more often appeared biologically older than those who reported fewer pregnancies. . Notably, the number of pregnancies was not associated with biological aging among men of the same age, implying that it is something specifically related to pregnancy or breastfeeding that accelerates biological aging. The findings are published in The proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This study is based on epidemiological findings that high fertility can have negative side effects on women’s health and longevity. What was unknown, however, was whether the costs of reproduction were present earlier in life, before diseases and age-related decline began to become evident. Until now, one of the challenges has been quantifying biological aging among young people. This challenge was overcome by using a collection of new tools that use DNA methylation (DNAm) to study different facets of cellular aging, health, and mortality risk. These tools, called “epigenetic clocks,” allow researchers to study aging earlier in life, filling a key gap in the study of biological aging.

“Epigenetic clocks have revolutionized the way we study biological aging across the lifespan and open new opportunities to study how and when the long-term health costs of reproduction and other life events take hold,” he said. Calen Ryan PhD, senior author of the study and associate. Research scientist at the Columbia Aging Center.

“Our findings suggest that pregnancy accelerates biological aging and that these effects are evident in young women with high fertility,” Ryan said. “Our results are also the first to follow the same women over time, linking changes in each woman’s number of pregnancies to changes in her biological age.”

The relationship between pregnancy history and biological age persisted even after accounting for other factors related to biological aging, such as socioeconomic status, smoking, and genetic variation, but was not present among men in the same sample. This finding, Ryan noted, points to some aspect of having children, rather than sociocultural factors associated with early fertility or sexual activity, as a driver of biological aging.

Despite the surprising nature of the findings, Ryan encourages readers to remember the context:

“Many of the pregnancies reported in our baseline measure occurred during late adolescence, when women are still growing. We expect this type of pregnancy to be particularly challenging for a growing mother, especially if her access to health care, resources or other forms of support is limited. is limited.”

Ryan also acknowledged that there is more work to do;

“We still have a lot to learn about the role of pregnancy and other aspects of reproduction in the aging process. We also do not know to what extent accelerated epigenetic aging in these particular individuals will manifest as poor health or mortality decades later in life. .”

Ryan said our current understanding of epigenetic clocks and how they predict health and mortality largely comes from North America and Europe, but that the aging process may take slightly different forms in the Philippines and other places around the world.

“Ultimately, I think our findings highlight the potential long-term impacts of pregnancy on women’s health and the importance of caring for new parents, especially young mothers.”

Co-authors

Co-authors are Christopher Kuzawa, Northwestern University, Nanette R. Lee and Delia B. Carba, USC Office of Population Studies Foundation; Julie L. MacIsaac, David S. Lin, and Parmida Atashzay, University of British Columbia; Daniel Belsky Columbia Public Health and Columbia Aging Center; Michael S. Kobor, University of British Columbia, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Center for Therapeutics and Molecular Medicine.

Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center

Bringing together the resources of the entire campus of a premier research university, the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center’s approach to the science of aging is innovative and multidisciplinary with an eye to practical and policy implications. Its mission is to expand the knowledge base needed to better understand the aging process and the societal implications of our increased potential to live longer lives. For more information about this center it is based at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health.

The study was supported by National Institutes of Health R01AG061006; National Science Foundation BCS 1751912; University of British Columbia UBC 60055724.

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This peer-reviewed publication from our Pregnancy Information section was selected for circulation by Disabled World editors because of its likely interest to our readers in the disability community. Although content may have been edited for style, clarity, or length, the article “Pregnancy accelerates biological aging” was originally written by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and submitted for publication on 04/08/2024 (Editing update: 04/09/2024). If you require further information or clarification, you may contact the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health at columbia.edu website. Disabled World makes no warranties or representations in connection therewith.

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Cite this page (APA): Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. (2024, April 8). Pregnancy accelerates biological aging. Disabled world. Retrieved April 10, 2024 from www.disabled-world.com/health/female/pregnancy/biological-aging.php

Permanent link: Pregnancy accelerates biological aging: This study is based on epidemiological findings that high fertility can have negative side effects on women’s health and longevity.

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