Health
Pregnancy speeds up aging process for young women, says study: ‘Remarkable finding’
The list of sacrifices women make for their children just got longer, as a new study reveals that pregnancy can accelerate aging in young mothers.
Research from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found that women who had been pregnant in the past looked “biologically older” than those who had never carried a child.
The effect was compounded in women who had more pregnancies compared to those who had fewer pregnancies, according to a press release from the university.
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Data was gathered for 1,735 young people (ages 20 to 22) in the Philippines.
The findings were published in the medical journey Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences.
A new study has shown that pregnancy can accelerate aging in young mothers. (iStock)
The researchers used new DNA tools — called “epigenetic clocks” — to analyze cellular information related to health, aging and mortality risk, the release stated.
The same effect on biological aging was not reported among fathers, which suggests that the effect is associated with pregnancy or breastfeeding.
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“We found that the number of pregnancies reported by young women was associated with faster biological aging using multiple measures that predict health and mortality later in life,” Calen Ryan, PhD, associate research scientist in the Columbia Aging Center and lead author of the study, told Fox News Digital.
“These effects persisted even when accounting for a range of social and environmental factors, but were not present for same-aged men from the same cohort.”
The effect was compounded in women who had more pregnancies compared to those who had fewer pregnancies. (iStock)
The effects were seen the most in “young, high-fertility women,” said Ryan.
“Our results are also the first to follow the same women through time, linking changes in each woman’s pregnancy number to changes in her biological age.”
“We’ve been so focused on outcomes for infants that we often forget to take care of the moms.”
The fact that the number of pregnancies is linked to changes at the molecular level — long before any health changes can be detected — is a “remarkable finding,” Ryan said.
“It highlights how we have been overlooking pregnancy and other key aspects of women’s health when we study the aging process.”
The researchers used new DNA tools — called “epigenetic clocks” — to analyze cellular information related to health, aging and mortality risk. (iStock)
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, was not involved in the study but reviewed the findings.
“The effects aren’t that pronounced, but they are in keeping with what we know about pregnancy — a period of inflammation, decreased overall immune function, rapid cell turnover, and increased stress and metabolic function,” he told Fox News Digital.
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“All of this contributes to cellular aging, where metabolic functions begin to decline.”
Longer-term studies would need to be done to determine whether the effects are reversible over time, Siegel noted.
Study limitations
The study did have some limitations, according to Ryan.
The individuals in Columbia’s study were “quite young,” he said, and came from a different sociocultural context than where the measures were developed.
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“We need to continue to study the extent to which these measures of biological aging translate to health outcomes as women age in the context of the Philippines, where this study was carried out,” Ryan told Fox News Digital.
“We still have a lot to learn about the role of pregnancy and other aspects of reproduction in the aging process.”
The same effect on biological aging was not reported among fathers, which suggests that the effect is associated with pregnancy or breastfeeding. (iStock)
The overall effects were small, Ryan said, and they could be linked, potentially, to high fertility and unreliable access to health care and adequate nutrition.
It’s not yet clear how the accelerated aging will impact women’s health or mortality as they grow older.
“Strong medical, social and nutritional support for new moms is always the best policy over the long run.”
“The message here is not all doom and gloom — but it does highlight the fact that we’ve been so focused on outcomes for infants that we often forget to take care of the moms,” he said.
Rather than relying on anecdotal stories, Ryan said he hopes studies like this one promote a better understanding of how, when and to what extent women’s biology is changed by pregnancy — and perhaps point toward ways to mitigate those effects.
Ryan added, “Strong medical, social and nutritional support for new moms is always the best policy over the long run.”
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Scientists have linked eating leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale and broccoli to better lung health.
There are two primary forms of vitamin K found in foods. The primary kind is vitamin K1, found mainly in vegetables, which plays a major role in the body’s blood-clotting process.
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Vitamin K2 is found in fermented foods, certain dairy products, eggs and meats and helps regulate calcium in the body and supports bone health.
Researchers at Australia’s Edith Cowan University examined whether dietary intake of vitamins K1 and K2 was associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and lung function.
Leafy green vegetables are high in vitamin K1, a nutrient that researchers have observed conributes to improved lung health. (iStock)
“Chronic respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, are among the most prevalent noncommunicable diseases worldwide and were the third leading cause of death in 2019, accounting for 4 million deaths and affecting 454.6 million individuals globally,” the scientists reported in the introduction to their study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
“Although asthma and COPD can be managed with available treatments, neither condition is curable, underscoring the need for effective prevention strategies,” they added.
The leading cause of COPD is smoking, the Mayo Clinic reported. Exposure to other irritants, such as dust, chemicals and pollution, can also cause it.
The researchers analyzed data from 179,062 participants over a 10-and-a-half-year period and concluded that, “Higher dietary vitamin K1 intake was associated with better lung function and a lower rate of COPD.”
Researchers found that people who increased their vitamin K1 intake were less likely to develop COPD. (iStock)
Participants who consumed the most vitamin K1 had a 16% lower likelihood of COPD, the researchers observed. The effects were more pronounced in smokers and participants with high-risk occupations.
Consumption of vitamin K2 did not result in lower COPD rates.
“No association was observed for vitamin K1 or vitamin K2 intakes and asthma,” the researchers also wrote.
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Associate Professor Marc Sim, who was involved in the study, said that it’s likely Vitamin K activates a protein that may help keep lung tissue flexible and prevent damage.
Because the study was observational, it cannot prove that vitamin K1 directly reduces COPD risk, only that higher intake was associated with better lung health.
Researchers have associated higher consumption of leafy green vegetables with better lung function. (iStock)
Just one extra serving of leafy greens “is an achievable way to boost your vitamin K1 intake,” said Chengfeng Li, one of the study’s researchers.
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Other foods rich in vitamin K1 include collard greens, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts and turnip greens.
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