Accelerated biological aging and midlife frailty among U.S. military veterans.

ABSTRACT: Injuries characterizing recent military service, such as traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder, are linked to accelerated biological aging. If recent veterans have accelerated aging, they might also show early onset of aging-related phenotypes, such as frailty. In this study, we examined the prevalence of frailty and associations with biological aging using data from 1,654 post-9/11 veterans, who were followed for an average of 12.6 years. Biological aging was assessed using DunedinPACE, and frailty was assessed using 11 years of Jen Frailty Index scores from electronic health records. We found a high proportion of frailty-25.5% of post-9/11 veterans met frailty criteria during the study. This is roughly double the prevalence among community-dwelling older adults, despit

SUBMITTER: Bourassa KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12614435 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature