Circadian syndrome and cardiometabolic multimorbidity in CHARLS: biological age acceleration as mediator
In 6,260 CHARLS participants followed 2011–2020, circadian syndrome was associated with higher risks of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cardiometabolic multimorbidity; two biomarker-based biological age acceleration measures were examined as possible mediators. [1]
Automatic summary · not editorially reviewed
The key findings
Circadian syndrome was defined as at least 4 of 7 components, including short sleep duration and depressive symptoms. [1]
In fully adjusted Cox models, circadian syndrome was associated with a hazard ratio of 2.39 for cardiometabolic multimorbidity. [1]
Two biomarker-based biological age acceleration measures were examined as possible mediators. [1]
The source at a glance
- Study type / format
- Prospective cohort analysis (abstract)
- Population / context
- 6,260 participants of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), 2011–2020.
- Summary based on
- Study abstract
- Publication status
- Preprint · peer-review status not confirmed
- Original publication
- September 10, 2026
Circadian syndrome definition in CHARLS
The abstract describes circadian syndrome as an extension of metabolic syndrome that adds sleep and mental health dimensions. It was defined as having at least 4 of 7 components: central obesity, elevated blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, elevated fasting glucose, short sleep duration and depressive symptoms. It was assessed both as a yes/no status and as a component score.
Supporting source [1]
Incident outcomes and hazard ratios in CHARLS
During follow-up, 1,165 participants (18.6%) developed heart disease, 510 (8.1%) stroke, 891 (14.3%) diabetes and 373 (6.0%) cardiometabolic multimorbidity. In fully adjusted Cox models, circadian syndrome was associated with higher risks of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cardiometabolic multimorbidity, with hazard ratios of 1.30, 2.13, 2.15 and 2.39. These are associations, not proof of causation.
Supporting source [1]
Biological age acceleration as examined mediator
Biological age acceleration was quantified with two biomarker-based measures, Klemera–Doubal method biological age acceleration and Light biological age acceleration, each calculated as biological age minus chronological age. Mediation analyses assessed whether these two measures mediated the associations between circadian syndrome and the outcomes. The abstract does not report the mediation results.
Supporting source [1]
How to interpret this
Abstract only; the full text was not reviewed. The abstract does not report mediation results, follow-up duration per outcome, or adjustment details beyond 'fully adjusted'. Associations do not establish causation.
Based on the study abstract; the full paper, tables and supplementary data were not reviewed.
Source & supporting passages
Yan H, Li L, Wang M. · europepmc.org · September 10, 2026