Associations of eating duration and shift work with accelerated biological aging among U.S. workers

Mar 29, 2026The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Eating times and shift work linked to faster biological aging in U.S. workers

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Abstract

Eating duration and shift work are both associated with increased prevalence of accelerated biological aging (ABA) in U.S. workers.

Short eating duration (<12 hours) is linked to a higher prevalence of ABA compared to moderate eating duration (12-14 hours).
Long eating duration (≥14 hours) may also be associated with increased prevalence of ABA compared to moderate eating duration.
Shift work is independently associated with a higher prevalence of ABA compared to non-shift work.
Workers with both short eating duration and shift work may experience an even greater prevalence of ABA than those with moderate eating duration and non-shift work.

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OBJECTIVES: Eating duration and shift work can both influence circadian rhythm, which is crucial for longevity. However, their joint associations on the aging process remain unexplored. We aimed to examine the independent and joint associations of eating duration and shift work with accelerated biological aging (ABA) in a representative sample of U.S. workers.

DESIGN AND SETTING: A cross-sectional study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2005-2010 and 2017-2018.

PARTICIPANTS: We included 10,211, 10,062, and 9,572 workers in eating duration, shift work, and joint association analyses, respectively.

MEASUREMENTS: Time of eating occasions were accessed by 24-h dietary recalls, and eating duration was categorized as short (SED: <12 h), moderate (MED: 12-14 h; reference), and long eating duration (LED: ≥14 h). Work schedules were self-reported and classified as shift work (SW) vs. non-shift work (NSW). ABA was defined as biological age exceeding chronological age using the residual method. Adjusted Poisson regressions were used to examine the independent and joint associations.

RESULTS: Eating duration had a U-shaped relationship with ABA. SED (PR, 1.13; 95%CI, 1.01-1.27) and LED (PR, 1.07; 95%CI, 0.96-1.19) were associated with higher prevalences of ABA compared to MED. SW was independently associated with a higher prevalence of ABA (PR, 1.10; 95%CI, 1.01-1.20). Workers with both SED and SW had an increased prevalence of ABA (PR, 1.19; 95%CI, 1.02-1.40) compared to those with MED and NSW.

CONCLUSIONS: We found that both eating duration and shift work independently and jointly increased the prevalence of accelerated biological aging among U.S. workers.

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Associations of eating duration and shift work with accelerated biological aging among U.S. workers

Abstract

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