Longitudinal course of GDF15 levels before acute hospitalization and death in the general population

Abstract

Growth differentiation 15 (GDF15) is a potential novel biomarker of biological aging. To separate the effects of chronological age and birth cohort from biological age, longitudinal studies investigating the associations of GDF15 levels with adverse health outcomes are needed. We investigated changes in GDF15 levels over 10 years in an age-stratified sample of the general population and their relation to the risk of acute hospitalization and death. Serum levels of GDF15 were measured three times in 5-year intervals in 2176 participants aged 30, 40, 50, or 60 years from the Danish population-based DAN-MONICA cohort. We assessed the association of single and repeated GDF15 measurements with the risk of nontraumatic acute hospitalizations. We tested whether changes in GDF15 levels over 10 years differed according to the frequency of hospitalizations within 2 years or survival within 20 years, after the last GDF15 measurement. The change in GDF15 levels over time was dependent on age and sex. Higher GDF15 levels and a greater increase in GDF15 levels were associated with an increased risk of acute hospitalization in adjusted Cox regression analyses. Participants with more frequent admissions within 2 years, and those who died within 20 years, after the last GDF15 measurement already had elevated GDF15 levels at baseline and experienced greater increases in GDF15 levels during the study. The change in GDF15 levels was associated with changes in Creactive protein and biomarkers of kidney, liver, and cardiac function. Monitoring of GDF15 starting in middle-aged could be valuable for the prediction of adverse health outcomes.

A Nrf2-OSGIN1&2-HSP70 axis mediates cigarette smoke-induced endothelial detachment: implications for plaque erosion

“…Similarly, HSP70 expression was elevated in smokers who experienced plaque erosion. Consistent with the published demographic differences between patients who experience plaque rupture and erosion, the patients in the plaque erosion group were significantly younger than those in the rupture group (51.1 ± 8.1 vs 59.7 ± 10.9), and we cannot exclude that the differences we observed in GDF15 and HSP70 levels are related to age; however, circulating GDF15 concentrations increases with age 68 suggesting that the observed increase in GDF15 with erosion is likely robust. Lastly, we demonstrated that OSGIN1 and OSGIN2 were up-regulated in the aortas of mice exposed to cigarette smoke.…”

High serum concentrations of growth differentiation factor-15 and their association with Crohn’s disease and a low skeletal muscle index

“…However, there was no correlation between GDF-15 and the SMI for females. GDF-15 levels were higher in females than in males in their 30 s; however, they were higher in males than in females when they were in their 50s 25 . The population observed during our study was in their 30 s, when this change begins to occur, which may be why there was no significant difference in females.…”