14 years of research and they have proof: the secret to faster aging lies in childhood

• Researchers from Harbin analyzed data from over 320,000 Britons, examining the impact of early tobacco exposure on the aging process.
• About 27% of participants were exposed to cigarette smoke in utero.
• Early exposure to tobacco was associated with shorter telomeres, higher biological age, homeostasis disturbances, and a higher risk of hospitalization and premature death.
• Researchers emphasize that parents' lifestyle and habits from an early age shape health in adulthood.

Scientists from the University of Harbin (China) came to these conclusions after analyzing data on 320,453 British people aged 40-69 (in the UKB biomedical database).

Using questionnaires, information was collected about whether their mothers smoked during pregnancy and the age at which they started smoking . Approximately 27% of them were exposed to cigarette smoke in utero.

Eight indicators were used to assess biological aging, including:

• length of telomeres (chromosome ends),
• frailty index (which is a measure of physiological reserves and susceptibility to stressful factors),
• an indicator of dysregulation of the body's homeostasis,
• biological age determined by the Klemery-Doubal method,
• age-related hospitalization rate,
• life expectancy
• and premature death.

The analysis also took into account the possible influence of inflammatory factors .

Analyses conducted over an average period of 14.6 years showed that exposure to tobacco during fetal life and starting smoking at a young age (in childhood or adolescence) were associated with shorter telomeres in immune cells - leukocytes, higher biological age and disturbances in the body's homeostasis in adulthood.

Additionally, researchers found that early exposure to tobacco may be associated with increased hospitalizations, premature mortality, and may shorten life expectancy.

These relationships can be partly explained by increased inflammation in the body.

According to the authors of the study , this discovery confirms that the lifestyle of parents, as well as our own lifestyle from an early age, can influence our health in adulthood .