Abstract Body: Introduction: Fatherhood is associated with deteriorations in health behaviors, but fatherhood’s influence on biological aging is unknown.
Objective: Test the associations between fatherhood and epigenetic aging.
Methods: We included men from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, a prospective cohort study which enrolled Black and White individuals aged 18 to 30 years at baseline (1985-86). Biological aging was measured by two DNA methylation-based cellular aging estimators, GrimAge2 and DunedinPACE, which have been shown to be associated with multiple age-related health outcomes and were calculated at CARDIA exam year 15 (Y15), 20, 25, and 30. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) assessed difference in GrimAge2 acceleration (GAA) and DunedinPACE between (a) fathers vs nonfathers and (b) age at fatherhood onset (father’s age at the birth of their oldest child). Models were adjusted for (1) sociodemographic characteristics (Y15 age, race, marital status, education, field center) and subsequentially for (2) sociodemographic characteristics plus cardiovascular health (CVH) metric scores as measured by the AHA’s Life’s Essential 8 (diet, physical activity, sleep, smoking, body-mass index, blood glucose, blood lipids and blood pressure) at Y15.
Results: In this sample of 1098 men, mean age at Y15 was 40.4 (SD=3.5) years, 799 (72.8%) were current fathers and 449 (40.9%) self-identified as Black. Fathers had a faster rate of GAA compared to nonfathers in both sociodemographic (b=1.07 years; 95% CI= 0.55, 1.59) and sociodemographic-CVH adjusted GEE models (b=0.69; 95% CI= 0.24, 1.14) (Figure 1). Among fathers, becoming a father at age <25 was associated with faster GAA (b=1.39 years; 95% CI= 0.88, 1.89) compared with men who became fathers age ≥30, but this association was attenuated after adjusting for CVH metrics (Figure 1). Men who became fathers age <25 had higher DunedinPACE levels in sociodemographic (b=0.029 years per chronologic year; 95% CI=0.017, 0.041) and CVH adjusted models (b=0.015; 95% CI=0.002, 0.027), than men who became fathers at age ≥30.
Conclusion: Fathers have faster biological aging than nonfathers, especially men who father their first child at a young age (<25 years). These associations are attenuated after adjustment for modifiable CVH behaviors and factors. Understanding the relationship between CVH, fatherhood, and biological aging may provide opportunities to improve men’s health.