Objective:

To explore the association between biological aging and hospital-diagnosed metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and investigate the potential mediating effects of biological aging on the relationships between unhealthy lifestyles and MASLD.

Approach:

Key Findings:

• Accelerated biological aging was significantly associated with hospital-diagnosed MASLD, with hazard ratios of 1.46 (95% CI: 1.35, 1.57) for PhenoAge acceleration and 1.35 (95% CI: 1.19, 1.53) for KDMAge acceleration.
• PhenoAge acceleration accounted for 11.4% to 25.5% of the associations between unhealthy lifestyle factors (smoking, drinking, poor diet, low physical activity) and MASLD.
• KDMAge acceleration showed minimal mediation effects (≤2%).

Interpretation:

The findings suggest that accelerated biological aging is linked to an increased risk of hospital-diagnosed MASLD and may mediate the effects of unhealthy lifestyles on MASLD risk.

Limitations:

• The study may be limited by the observational nature of the data, which restricts causal inferences.
• Potential confounding factors, such as genetic predisposition and environmental influences, were not accounted for in the analysis.

Conclusion:

Accelerated biological aging is associated with hospital-diagnosed MASLD and may partially mediate the relationships between unhealthy lifestyles and MASLD.

Attribution Notice

This content is an AI-generated, fully rewritten summary based on a published scholarly article. It does not reproduce the original text and is not a substitute for the original publication. Readers are encouraged to consult the source for full context, data, and methodology.