Lifestyle score approaches combining individual lifestyle factors, e.g. favourable diet, physical activity or normal body weight, showed inverse associations with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. However, research mainly focussed on adult behaviour and is scarce for vulnerable time windows for adult health like adolescence. We investigated associations between an adolescent lifestyle score and CVD risk markers in young adulthood. Overall, we analysed 270 participants of the open DONALD cohort study with 1–6 complete measurements of five lifestyle factors (healthy diet, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep duration and BMI standard deviation score) during adolescence (females: 8⋅5–15⋅5 years and males: 9⋅5–16⋅5 years). Multivariable linear regression models were used to investigate the prospective association between the adolescent lifestyle score (0–5 points) and CVD risk markers in young adulthood (18–30 years). On average, participants obtained a mean adolescent lifestyle score of 2⋅9 (0–5) points. Inverse associations between the adolescent lifestyle score and waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio and percentage of body fat were observed (4⋅1, 4⋅1 and 9⋅2 % decrease per 1 point increase in adolescent lifestyle score, respectively, P < 0⋅05). For the remaining CVD risk markers (glucose, blood lipids, blood pressure and a proinflammatory score), no associations were observed. A healthy adolescent lifestyle is particularly associated with CVD risk-related favourable anthropometric markers in adulthood. A more comprehensive understanding of lifestyle patterns in the life course might enable earlier, targeted preventive measures to assist vulnerable groups in prevention of chronic diseases.

Background There is emerging evidence that the gut microbiome composition is associated with several human health outcomes, which include cognitive performance. However, only a few prospective epidemiological studies exist and none among young adults. Here we address the gap in the literature by investigating whether the gut microbiome composition is prospectively linked to fluid intelligence among healthy young adults. Methods Forty individuals (65% females, 26 years) from the DOrtmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed (DONALD) study provided a fecal sample for gut microbiome composition and subsequently (average of 166 days) completed a cognitive functioning test using the Cattell’s Culture Fair Intelligence Test, revised German version (CFT 20-R). The assessment of the gut microbiome at the genera level was by 16S rRNA V3-V4 Illumina sequencing. The relative abundance of 158 genera was summarized into bacterial communities using a novel data-driven dimension reduction, amalgamation. The fluid intelligence score was regressed on the relative abundance of the bacterial communities and adjusted for selected covariates. Results The 158 genera were amalgamated into 12 amalgams (bacterial communities), which were composed of 18, 6, 10, 14, 8, 10, 16, 13, 12, 12, 3, and 11 genera. Only the 14-genera bacterial community, named the “Ruminococcaceae- and Coriobacteriaceae-dominant community” was positively associated with fluid intelligence score (β = 7.8; 95% CI: 0.62, 15.65, P = 0.04). Conclusion Among healthy young adults, the abundance of a gut bacterial community was associated with fluid intelligence score. This study suggests that cognitive performance may potentially benefit from gut microbiome-based intervention.

A healthy lifestyle during adolescence might be associated with insulin sensitivity or liver enzyme levels and thus contribute to the prevention of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) later in life. Therefore, we examined the association between adherence to a hypothesis-based lifestyle score including dietary intake, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep duration and body mass index in adolescence and fatty liver indices in early adulthood. Overall, 240 participants of the DONALD study completed repeated measurements of the lifestyle score factors during adolescence (females: 8.5-15.5 years, males: 9.5-16.5 years). Multivariable linear regression models were used to investigate the prospective association between adolescent lifestyle scores and NAFLD risk (hepatic steatosis index (HSI) and the fatty liver index (FLI)) in early adulthood (18-30 years). Participants visited the study centre 4.9 times during adolescence and achieved 2.8 (0.6-5) out of 5 lifestyle score points on average. Inverse associations were observed between the lifestyle score during adolescence and fatty liver indices in young adulthood (HSI: -5.8% [-8.3 to -3.1%], p<0.0001, FLI: -32.4% [-42.9 to -20.0%], p<0.0001) in the overall study population. Sex-stratified analysis confirmed these results in men, while inverse but non-significant associations were observed in women (p>0.05). A higher lifestyle score during adolescence was associated with lower HSI and FLI values, suggesting that a healthy lifestyle during adolescence might contribute to NAFLD prevention, predominantly in men. Our findings on repeatedly measured lifestyle scores in adolescents and their association with fatty liver indices in early adulthood warrant confirmation in larger study populations.

Purpose Lifestyle scores which combine single factors such as diet, activity, or sleep duration showed associations with cognitive decline in adults. However, the role of a favourable lifestyle in younger age and the build-up of cognitive reserve is less clear, which is why we investigated longitudinal associations between a lifestyle score in childhood and adolescence and fluid intelligence obtained on average 6 years later. Methods In the DONALD cohort, a lifestyle score of 0 to 4 points including healthy diet and duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep was repeatedly assessed in participants aged 5 and 19 years. Data on fluid intelligence were assessed via a German version of the culture fair intelligence test (CFT), using CFT 1-R in children 8.5 years of age or younger (n = 62) or CFT 20-R in participants older than 8.5 years (n = 192). Multivariable linear regression models were used to investigate prospective associations between the lifestyle score and the fluid intelligence score. Results Mean lifestyle score of all participants was 2.2 (0.7–4) points. A one-point increase in the lifestyle score was associated with a higher fluid intelligence score (4.8 points [0.3–7.3], p = 0.0343) for participants completing the CFT 20-R. Furthermore, each additional hour of sedentary behaviour was associated with a lower fluid intelligence score (− 3.0 points [− 5.7 to − 0.3], p = 0.0313). For younger participants (CFT 1-R), no association was found in any analysis (p > 0.05). Conclusion A healthy lifestyle was positively associated with fluid intelligence, whereby sedentary behaviour itself seemed to play a prominent role.