8 Comportements bons pour le cœur qui peuvent aider à ralentir le vieillissement biologique

Certain lifestyle habits such as maintaining a healthy diet and getting enough physical activity may slow the process of biological aging, a new study found.

The research, published in May in the Journal of the American Heart Association, found that people who prioritized eight heart-healthy behaviors had a lower risk of heart disease and all-cause mortality. These benefits were even greater for people predisposed to faster biological aging.

A person's biological age refers to the state and health of their body, rather than how long they’ve been alive.

Someone whose biological age is higher than their chronological age is experiencing a process known as accelerated aging, and they may be more likely to develop certain health conditions, including cardiovascular issues. Accelerated aging can be influenced by social determinants—such as access to healthcare—but genetic factors also play a role.

However, even though people experiencing accelerated aging are more likely to see negative heart health outcomes, the new research found simple lifestyle changes can help mitigate this risk.

“Regardless of the biological aging status, people should be mindful of [certain healthy habits]—eat better, be more active, quit tobacco, get healthy sleep, manage weight, control cholesterol, control blood sugar, and control blood pressure,” Jiantao Ma, PhD, senior study author and assistant professor at Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, told Health. “[These] are key for reducing disease burden.”

Here’s what experts had to say about accelerated aging, cardiovascular health, and the new research, plus simple steps you can take to keep your heart healthy.

For the new research, Ma and his team analyzed data from more than 5,600 participants enrolled in the Framingham Heart Study, which has been collecting data since 1948; the average age of the participants was 56 years.

First, the study authors determined which of the participants were more genetically predisposed to accelerated aging. To do this, they looked at genetic variants associated with DNA methylation, a process in the body that regulates how different genes are expressed.

“DNA methylation describes a chemical mark that can be added or removed from the DNA, which allows individuals to adapt to their surroundings as needed,” Shannon Gillespie, PhD, RN, assistant professor of nursing and clinical and translational immunobiologist at The Ohio State University College of Nursing, told Health.

These chemical marks on our genetic code “can affect which genes are turned on or off, and can therefore shape our health over time,” Gillespie added, providing researchers clues about a person’s biological age.

In addition to each participant’s risk of accelerated aging, the researchers also looked at their lifestyle habits. Ma and his team used a tool from the American Heart Association (AHA) called Life’s Essential 8, by which doctors can give someone a health score ranging from zero to 100. To assess people using Life’s Essential 8, researchers use a mix of interviews, laboratory tests, and physical exams, analyzing the following eight components:

The study participants were tracked for 11 to 14 years, and researchers documented any incidence of cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular death, or death from any cause.

They found that for every 13-point increase in a person’s Life’s Essential 8 score, the risk of cardiovascular disease dropped 35%, the risk of death from cardiovascular disease dropped 36%, and the risk of death from any cause dropped 29%.

Among people who were genetically predisposed to accelerated aging, these reductions were even more significant: People in this group saw their risk of both cardiovascular disease and death from cardiovascular disease drop by 39%, and their risk of death from all causes drop by 78%.

This finding supports the idea that lifestyle factors could affect a person's biological age and, by extension, their risk of cardiovascular disease and death, Ma explained.

The study’s findings are intriguing, but Ma said there are still some limitations in its application.

For one, most of the participants were of “predominantly European ancestry,” the study authors wrote, meaning their findings may not be universally generalizable.

Also, this research suggests that people going through accelerated aging would see even greater health benefits from living a more heart-healthy lifestyle. However, for now, there’s no way for people to determine their genetic risk for accelerated aging on their own: “We don’t have any recommendations for the public [on] how they can get this information,” Ma said.

Despite this, Ma and other researchers around the world are learning more about how accelerated aging affects heart disease.

Il y a beaucoup d'intérêt pour le vieillissement biologique et son lien avec la longévité, et les scientifiques étudient nos gènes et les changements qui surviennent dans nos gènes en raison de styles de vie malsains", a déclaré Nieca Goldberg, MD, cardiologue et professeur agrégé de médecine à l'École de médecine Grossman de la NYU, à Health.

La nouvelle étude s'inscrit dans le prolongement de travaux antérieurs suggérant que "le vieillissement cellulaire rend une personne prédisposée aux maladies cardiométaboliques et aux maladies cardiaques", a déclaré Goldberg. "Il vieillit les vaisseaux sanguins, les prédisposant à l'accumulation de cholestérol dans les artères, provoquant des changements métaboliques."

Bien que des recherches supplémentaires soient nécessaires, le nouveau rapport met en lumière l'importance de respecter les habitudes saines décrites dans le programme Life's Essential 8, a déclaré Tamara Horwich, MD, cardiologue et professeur de sciences de la santé en médecine et cardiologie à la David Geffen School of Medicine de l'UCLA, à Health.

"Tous les huit facteurs de style de vie de cette étude travaillent ensemble pour réduire le risque cardiovasculaire, en particulier chez ceux ayant de moins bons scores de vieillissement épigénétique", a déclaré Horwich. Mais même ceux qui ne sont pas génétiquement prédisposés au vieillissement accéléré devraient donner la priorité au programme Life's Essential 8, ont convenu les experts.

Pour augmenter votre score Life's Essential 8, l'AHA recommande de privilégier une alimentation nutritive, de faire suffisamment d'exercice et de sommeil, d'éviter le tabac, de maintenir un poids santé et de gérer la glycémie, la pression artérielle et le cholestérol.

Il est également important de discuter de votre score Life's Essential 8 avec votre médecin pour en savoir plus sur la façon de réduire votre risque de problèmes cardiovasculaires, ont déclaré les experts.