0833 Insomnia Symptoms and Biological Aging in a Wellness Cohort

Abstract Introduction Insomnia is associated with chronic disease and mortality. Biological age indices derived from physiological and anthropometric markers provide a quantitative estimate of aging beyond chronological age. The association between subjective insomnia severity and biological aging in adults attending routine wellness visits remains poorly characterized. This study examined whether greater insomnia symptom burden is associated with accelerated biological age in a large cohort. Methods We analyzed data from a large adult cohort attending routine medical screening (males, n=10,656; females, n=6,279). Insomnia was assessed using the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS-5), rated on a 1 (low) to 7 (high) scale, and scores were averaged to yield an insomnia score. Biological age was estimated using regression models based on data from whole-blood biomarkers, exercise stress test parameters, and body roundness index (BRI). Biological age acceleration was defined as the difference between biological age and chronological age (years). Sex stratified linear models tested associations between insomnia severity and biological age acceleration. Results A significant linear relationship was observed between insomnia severity and accelerated biological aging in both males and females (males: F=215.94, df=1, 10,646, p.001; females: F=120.91, df=1, 6,169, p.001). Among males, those in the lowest decile for insomnia (best sleepers) had a biological age 2.2 years younger than their chronological age. In contrast, those in the highest decile (worst sleepers) had an accelerated biological age of 1.9 years. For females, the corresponding range was 2 years younger for the best sleepers and 1.7 years older for the worst sleepers. BRI contributed most to estimating biological age. To identify potentially modifiable variables, we adjusted BRI and AIS-both age-dependent variables-for age and found that the significant positive linear association between them remained (males: F=53.67, df=1, 11,849, p.001; females: F=18.82, df=1, 6,875, p.001). Conclusion Higher insomnia symptom burden was associated with accelerated biological aging. These findings suggest that insomnia may be a clinically relevant and potentially modifiable correlate of accelerated biological aging in real-world preventive care settings. Support (if any) Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Pylon III, Section I8. Development of a Program to Attract Highly Specialized Human Resources from Abroad in Research, Development and Innovation Activities, PNRR-III-C9-2023-I8, code CF 46/ 28.07.2023