Leisure-time physical activity predicts levels of advanced glycation end-products in older women: A 15-year follow up from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study.

Aim: Physical activity might be able to delay the aging process by reducing levels of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). However, the influence of physical activity on levels of AGEs remains unclear. We investigated the associations between leisure time physical activity (LTPA) in late midlife and change in LTPA during a 15-year follow up on the levels of AGEs in old age.

Methods: We analyzed 767 participants from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. LTPA was measured with a validated questionnaire in late midlife and in old age. The levels of AGEs were measured by skin autofluorescence in old age. General linear models and restricted cubic regression spline models were used to study the associations between LTPA and AGEs. Analyses were adjusted for age, alcohol consumption, dietary index, smoking, follow-up time, body mass index and socioeconomic status.

Results: Mean levels of AGEs in women (2.33 AU, SD 0.46) were lower than in men (2.49 AU, SD 0.50, P < 0.001). Women in the lowest LTPA quartile had 0.19 AU (95% CI 0.07-0.32, P = 0.002), 0.21 AU (95% CI 0.09-0.33, P = 0.001) and 0.18 AU (95% CI 0.05-0.31, P = 0.006) higher levels of AGEs compared with women in the second, third and fourth quartile. In the restricted cubic regression spline model, levels of AGEs (P = 0.006) were decreasing with increasing LTPA from 0 to 32 METh/week, after which the association plateaued. No associations were found in men.

Conclusions: Greater volume of LTPA in late midlife is associated with lower levels of AGEs in skin tissue in old age in women. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2025; ••: ••-••.