Dietary Polyphenol Intake Is Associated with Biological Aging, a Novel Predictor of Cardiovascular Disease: Cross-Sectional Findings from the Moli-Sani Study

Abstract

Biological aging, or the discrepancy between biological and chronological age of a subject (Δage), has been associated with a polyphenol-rich Mediterranean diet and represents a new, robust indicator of cardiovascular disease risk. We aimed to disentangle the relationship of dietary polyphenols and total antioxidant capacity with Δage in a cohort of Italians. A cross-sectional analysis was performed on a sub-cohort of 4592 subjects (aged ≥ 35 y; 51.8% women) from the Moli-sani Study (2005–2010). Food intake was recorded by a 188-item food-frequency questionnaire. The polyphenol antioxidant content (PAC)-score was constructed to assess the total dietary content of polyphenols. Total antioxidant capacity was measured in foods by these assays: trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), total radical-trapping antioxidant parameter (TRAP) and ferric reducing-antioxidant power (FRAP). A deep neural network, based on 36 circulating biomarkers, was used to compute biological age and the resulting Δage, which was tested as outcome in multivariable-adjusted linear regressions. Δage was inversely associated with the PAC-score (β = −0.31; 95%CI −0.39, −0.24) but not with total antioxidant capacity of the diet. A diet rich in polyphenols, by positively contributing to deceleration of the biological aging process, may exert beneficial effects on the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease and possibly of bone health.

Association between the Inflammatory Potential of the Diet and Biological Aging: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of 4510 Adults from the Moli-Sani Study Cohort

“…Our results are in accordance with prior observations where a high adherence to well-known anti-inflammatory dietary patterns (e.g., Mediterranean Diet and DASH) and dietary polyphenols consumption were associated with delayed biological aging [ 48 , 49 ]. In cross-sectional studies, a pro-inflammatory diet, as reflected by a higher DII/E-DII score, was associated with increased levels of inflammatory markers [ 50 ] and metabolic syndrome [ 51 ].…”

Does Plant Breeding for Antioxidant-Rich Foods Have an Impact on Human Health?

“…A plethora of scientific evidence, summarized in Table 5, suggests that increased consumption of fruits, vegetables and cereals represents an easy and practical strategy to significantly reduce the incidence of chronic diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, type-2 diabetes, obesity, and other aging-related pathologies [250][251][252][253][254][255][256][257][258][259][260]. A large population-based study (i.e., 24,325 men and women aged ≥35 years) has evidenced that a high polyphenol antioxidant content (PAC) score in the diet [261] is associated in both genders with low-grade inflammation, evaluated as C-Reactive Protein levels, white blood cells, platelet count, and granulocyte to lymphocyte ratio [262], with a reduced mortality risk, including cerebrovascular and cancer mortality [263], and with a decelerated biological aging [264]. In addition, a meta-analysis including many randomized controlled trials reported that the consumption of polyphenol-rich berries significantly ameliorated lipid profiles, blood pressure, or vascular functions [265].…”

Dietary Bioactives: Their Role in the Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Bone Diseases

“…In this context, the Special Issue (SI) "Dietary Bioactives: Their Role in the Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Bone Diseases" has published nine novel papers on this topic [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. In detail, the SI includes: one narrative review paper, one crosssectional analysis, three pre-clinical animal studies, three in vitro experimental approaches and one ex vivo approach.…”

“…Using an animal model of ovariectomized-induced osteoporotic mice, the authors identified scopolin as the candidate bioactive compound extracted from Lycii radicis cortex capable of preventing and treating osteoporosis [13]. Finally, in the bone health field, the In this context, the Special Issue (SI) "Dietary Bioactives: Their Role in the Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Bone Diseases" has published nine novel papers on this topic [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. In detail, the SI includes: one narrative review paper, one crosssectional analysis, three pre-clinical animal studies, three in vitro experimental approaches and one ex vivo approach.…”

“…Finally, in this SI, Esposito et al ( 2021) published a cross-sectional analysis performed on a sub-cohort of 4592 subjects from the Moli-sani Study (2005-2010) which suggested that intake polyphenols, which contribute to slowing down the biological aging process, may exert protective effects on the long-term risk of cardiovascular and metabolic bone disease development [11].…”