Hormonal
High body mass index (BMI) accelerates epigenetic aging of human liver tissue, independent of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) severity, with an estimated increase of 2.7 years of epigenetic age for every 10-unit increase in BMI.
High BMI is associated with accelerated biological aging specifically in the liver, independent of fatty liver disease severity. This aging effect is not quickly reversed by weight loss, even after bariatric surgery, within the first 9 months. This suggests that maintaining a healthy weight is crucial for preventing long-term liver aging and associated risks like insulin resistance and liver cancer, and that weight loss efforts should be sustained long-term to potentially mitigate these epigenetic changes.
On average, epigenetic age increased by 3.3 y for each 10 BMI units... The detected age acceleration in liver is not associated with the Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Activity Score or any of its component traits after adjustment for BMI.
Why this rating
Large sample sizes across multiple datasets, replication in independent cohorts, and rigorous adjustment for confounders like NAFLD severity.
Source
Obesity accelerates epigenetic aging of human liver
Steve Horvath et al. · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2014
DOI 10.1073/pnas.1412759111
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