Longitudinal Associations between the Built Environment, Biological Aging and Cognition

Abstract

Features of urbanicity have been linked to poor psychiatric health in adulthood, but little is known about their relationship with biological age and cognition earlier in life.

Using the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), we tested associations between the built environment and epigenetic ages (EpiAgeAltum, EpiAgeHorvath, EpiAgePACE) (n=2,452), brain age (n=751), and cognition (n=12,199). Analyses were replicated in Generation R and triangulated in the Millennium Cohort Study.

The built environment was not associated with epigenetic ages ({beta}Altum range = 0.013-0.015, p range = .466-.689; {beta}Horvath range = -0.011-0.023, p range = .182-.728; {beta}PACE range = -0.045-0.013, p range = .131-.524) or brain age ({beta} range = 0.022-0.028, p range = .337-.429). A negative association with cognition was observed in Generation R.

We provide no consistent evidence that childhood built environment exposure relates to biological age and cognition in adolescence, suggesting these relationships may emerge in later life.

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Cite

BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@misc{sanders2026longitudinal,
  title = {{Longitudinal Associations between the Built Environment, Biological Aging and Cognition}},
  author = {F. Sanders and V. Baltramonaityte and M. Staginnus and R. H. Mulder and R. L. Muetzel and M. Vrijheid and E. C. Dunn and H. L. Fisher and C. A. M. Cecil and E. Walton},
  howpublished = {medRxiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.64898/2026.10.08.26365061},
  url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.08.26365061v1},
  note = {CC BY},
}

RIS

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Longitudinal Associations between the Built Environment, Biological Aging and Cognition
AU  - F. Sanders
AU  - V. Baltramonaityte
AU  - M. Staginnus
AU  - R. H. Mulder
AU  - R. L. Muetzel
AU  - M. Vrijheid
AU  - E. C. Dunn
AU  - H. L. Fisher
AU  - C. A. M. Cecil
AU  - E. Walton
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
PB  - medRxiv
DO  - 10.64898/2026.10.08.26365061
UR  - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.08.26365061v1
AB  - Features of urbanicity have been linked to poor psychiatric health in adulthood, but little is known about their relationship with biological age and cognition earlier in life.  Using the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), we tested associations between the built environment and epigenetic ages (EpiAgeAltum, EpiAgeHorvath, EpiAgePACE) (n=2,452), brain age (n=751), and cognition (n=12,199). Analyses were replicated in Generation R and triangulated in the Millennium Cohort Study.  The built environment was not associated with epigenetic ages ({beta}Altum range = 0.013-0.015, p range = .466-.689; {beta}Horvath range = -0.011-0.023, p range = .182-.728; {beta}PACE range = -0.045-0.013, p range = .131-.524) or brain age ({beta} range = 0.022-0.028, p range = .337-.429). A negative association with cognition was observed in Generation R.  We provide no consistent evidence that childhood built environment exposure relates to biological age and cognition in adolescence, suggesting these relationships may emerge in later life.
ER  -

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