Biological age and hospital-diagnosed MASLD in UK Biobank participants
In UK Biobank participants, accelerated biological aging measured by PhenoAge and KDMAge was associated with later hospital-diagnosed MASLD; PhenoAge acceleration also partly accounted for links between four unhealthy lifestyle factors and MASLD. [1]
Automatic summary · not editorially reviewed
The key findings
Biological age was estimated with PhenoAge and Klemera-Doubal method age (KDMAge), and acceleration was defined as positive residuals from regressing biological age on chronological age. [1]
Among 247,444 participants, 3,254 developed hospital-diagnosed MASLD over a median follow-up of 13.7 years; hazard ratios were 1.46 for PhenoAge acceleration and 1.35 for KDMAge acceleration. [1]
PhenoAge acceleration accounted for 11.4% to 25.5% of the associations between four unhealthy lifestyle factors and MASLD, strongest for smoking, while KDMAge acceleration showed minimal mediation (2% or less). [1]
The source at a glance
- Study type / format
- Prospective cohort analysis (abstract)
- Population / context
- 247,444 UK Biobank participants, of whom 3,254 developed hospital-diagnosed MASLD.
- Summary based on
- Study abstract
- Original publication
- June 17, 2026
Biological age measures and MASLD outcome in UK Biobank
The study asked whether accelerated biological aging is associated with MASLD, a metabolic liver disease the abstract links to higher all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Data came from the UK Biobank. Biological age was estimated with two methods, PhenoAge and Klemera-Doubal method age (KDMAge). Acceleration meant a biological age higher than predicted from chronological age, based on positive residuals. The outcome was hospital-diagnosed MASLD, defined as hospital admission or death.
Supporting source [1]
Hazard ratios and mediation findings over 13.7 years
Among 247,444 participants, 3,254 developed hospital-diagnosed MASLD during a median follow-up of 13.7 years. Accelerated biological aging was significantly associated with this outcome: the hazard ratio was 1.46 (95% confidence interval 1.35 to 1.57) for PhenoAge acceleration and 1.35 (1.19 to 1.53) for KDMAge acceleration. In mediation analyses, PhenoAge acceleration accounted for part of the associations between four unhealthy lifestyle factors (smoking, drinking, poor diet and low physical activity) and MASLD, with mediation proportions from 11.4% to 25.5%; the strongest effect was for smoking. KDMAge acceleration showed minimal mediation (2% or less).
Supporting source [1]
Observational design limits causal reading of MASLD associations
The abstract describes a prospective cohort analysis using Cox regression and mediation analyses. It reports associations, not causes: accelerated biological aging was associated with hospital-diagnosed MASLD, and the authors say it may partially mediate lifestyle-MASLD links. The abstract does not report how biological age was measured in detail, how lifestyle factors were assessed, or how residual confounding was handled. It also does not give absolute risks. The authors state that the findings support potential relevance for risk stratification and prevention, which is a proposal, not a demonstrated intervention.
Supporting source [1]
How to interpret this
Abstract only; the full text was not reviewed. The abstract reports associations from an observational cohort, not causes, and gives no absolute risks or detailed methods for exposure assessment and confounding control.
Based on the study abstract; the full paper, tables and supplementary data were not reviewed.
Source & supporting passages
Yang X, Li S, Xue Q, Yan P, Li Q, Gong Y, Fan X, Zhu W, Wu S, Zhang S, Willems van Dijk K, Rensen PCN, Li-Gao R, Wang Y, Yao T. · europepmc.org · June 17, 2026