| Title: | Residential-area nighttime light exposure and biological aging patterns in the UK Biobank |
| Journal: | Scientific Reports |
| Published: | 5 Aug 2026 |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-65071-w |
| URL: | https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-65071-w_reference.pdf |
Publication 21084
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Abstract
With the global population aging, understanding the aging process and its contributing factors is increasingly crucial. Nighttime light (NTL), a pervasive but understudied urban environmental factor, may accelerate biological aging. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using baseline data from the UK Biobank (UKB). The NTL data were obtained from the National Earth System Science Data Center. Biological age (BA) was assessed using the Klemera-Doubal method (KDM-BA) and the PhenoAge algorithms. Multivariable linear and logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations between the NTL exposure and biological aging. Additionally, restricted cubic splines, subgroup analyses, and sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of the findings. A total of 296,372 participants (mean age 56.5 ± 8.1 years; 55.1% female) were included. We observed divergent associations between NTL exposure and biological aging metrics: inverse relationships with KDM-BA (β = -0.07, 95% CI: -0.09 to -0.06) and KDM-BA acceleration (β = − 0.03, 95% CI: − 0.04 to − 0.01), versus positive associations with PhenoAge (β = 0.07, 95% CI: 0.03-0.12) and PhenoAge acceleration (β = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.20-0.28). Restricted cubic splines revealed nonlinear dose-response associations between NTL exposure and biological aging measures (P for non-linearity < 0.001). Higher residential-area NTL exposure was associated with reduced KDM-BA and slower KDM-BA acceleration, but with elevated PhenoAge and faster PhenoAge acceleration.</p>
5 Authors
- Xiaojuan Liu
- Junru Wang
- Yongbin Zhu
- Yuhua Wu
- Jiangping Li
1 Application
| Application ID | Title |
|---|---|
| 98124 | Understanding the patterns of multimorbidity, and the role of environmental, lifestyle-related, psychological and genetic factors |
Enabling scientific discoveries that improve human health