1.research questions
!.What is the association between socioeconomic status (SES), lifestyle factors, and biological aging in UK adults?
!.What are the associations between biological aging and physical function, including sarcopenia, lung function, and hearing loss?
!.What are the joint and interactive effects of biological aging and polygenic risk scores (PRS) on physical functional decline, and do these effects differ by genetic risk level?
2.Objectives
!.To examine the relationship between SES, lifestyle behaviors, and biological aging using aging biomarkers (e.g., KDM and Phenotypic Age) derived from the UK Biobank data.
!.To evaluate the associations between biological aging and multiple physical functional domains, including muscle mass and strength, lung function, and hearing ability.
!.To compute trait-specific polygenic risk scores (PRS) and assess their independent and joint effects with biological aging on physical function, including testing for potential gene-aging interactions.
3. scientific rationale
Biological aging reflects cumulative physiological decline and is influenced by socioeconomic, lifestyle, and genetic factors. Using UK Biobank data, we will examine associations between SES, lifestyle behaviors, and biological aging measured via KDM and Phenotypic Age. Physical function will be assessed using grip strength, spirometry, hearing, and additional indicators representing different domains of physical capacity to comprehensively evaluate functional aging. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) for functional traits will be derived from GWAS summary statistics. Regression and mediation models will test associations and indirect effects. Joint and interaction models will evaluate whether genetic predisposition modifies the impact of biological aging on physical function. All models will adjust for demographic and genetic covariates.
