Midlife aging and performance study (MAPS): evaluating biological aging through a physical capacity battery.

Aging is a risk factor for the development of chronic diseases; however, it is heterogeneous. Measuring aging in midlife, commonly done using laboratory markers and statistical methods for estimation of biological age (BA), cannot directly inform behavioral intervention goals aiming to promote healthier aging. The Midlife Aging and Performance Study (MAPS) examined the association between an extended, inclusive assessment of physical capacity (PC), as a behavioral marker of aging, and BA, estimated using the Klemera-Doubal method from 11 laboratory and physiological biomarkers, in 112 individuals aged 42-46 (47% women).

Low sensory responsiveness is associated with accelerated aging in midlife.

This study examines the associations between sensory responsiveness levels and biological age among midlife adults, providing insights into the aging process. A cross-sectional study was conducted from 2020 to 2021 on a subset of the Jerusalem Perinatal Study in Israel, including 96 midlife adults (aged 45.65 ± 0.

Time is encoded by methylation changes at clustered CpG sites.

Age-dependent changes in DNA methylation allow chronological and biological age inference, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Using ultra-deep sequencing of >300 blood samples from healthy individuals, we show that age-dependent methylation changes occur regionally across clusters of CpG sites either stochastically or in a coordinated block-like manner. Deep learning of single-molecule patterns from two genomic loci predicts chronological age with a median accuracy of 1.

Tired of war: Changes in the sleep of the Israeli civilian population in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.

Study Objectives: War profoundly impacts various aspects of human life. The effects of war on sleep have been mainly studied among military personnel who are directly exposed to combat. The present work studies changes in sleep patterns of the civilian population following a war, assessing sleep before and during the 2023-2024 Israel-Hamas war.

Time is encoded by methylation changes at clustered CpG sites.

Age-dependent changes in DNA methylation allow chronological and biological age inference, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Using ultra-deep sequencing of >300 blood samples from healthy individuals, we show that age-dependent DNA methylation changes are regional and occur at multiple adjacent CpG sites, either stochastically or in a coordinated block-like manner. Deep learning analysis of single-molecule patterns in two genomic loci achieved accurate age prediction with a median error of 1.

The long-term associations of perinatal obesogenic environment with offspring biological aging.

Biological age (BA), reflecting aging-related health decline beyond chronological age, varies among individuals. While previous research explored associations of maternal pregnancy-related body size with offspring health outcomes, its implications for BA in young adults remain unclear. Utilizing longitudinal data of 1148 mother-offspring pairs from the Jerusalem Perinatal Study, we analyzed associations of maternal prepregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain (GWG) with offspring using the Klemera-Doubal method (KDM)-based BA at age 32 and potential familial life-course underlying mechanisms.

Efficient inference of parent-of-origin effect using case-control mother-child genotype data.

Parent-of-origin effect plays an important role in mammal development and disorder. Case-control mother-child pair genotype data can be used to detect parent-of-origin effect and is often convenient to collect in practice. Most existing methods for assessing parent-of-origin effect do not incorporate any covariates, which may be required to control for confounding factors.

Mapping cell-to-tissue graphs across human placenta histology whole slide images using deep learning with HAPPY.

Accurate placenta pathology assessment is essential for managing maternal and newborn health, but the placenta's heterogeneity and temporal variability pose challenges for histology analysis. To address this issue, we developed the 'Histology Analysis Pipeline.PY' (HAPPY), a deep learning hierarchical method for quantifying the variability of cells and micro-anatomical tissue structures across placenta histology whole slide images.

Obesity risk in young adults from the Jerusalem Perinatal Study (JPS): the contribution of polygenic risk and early life exposure.

Background/objectives: The effects of early life exposures on offspring life-course health are well established. This study assessed whether adding early socio-demographic and perinatal variables to a model based on polygenic risk score (PRS) improves prediction of obesity risk.

Methods: We used the Jerusalem Perinatal study (JPS) with data at birth and body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) measured at age 32.

Perinatal exposures and adolescence overweight: The role of shared maternal-offspring pathways.

Background And Aims: Early life exposures affect offspring health across the life-course. We aimed to examine whether prevalent perinatal exposures and obstetric complications are independently associated with offspring overweight in adolescence. We then assessed whether shared maternal-offspring pathways drive the association of perinatal exposures with offspring overweight.

Women's attitudes towards disclosure of genetic information in pregnancy with varying levels of penetrance.

Background: Chromosomal-microarray-analysis (CMA) may reveal susceptibility-loci (SL) of varied penetrance for autism-spectrum-disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental conditions. Attitudes of women/parents to disclosure of SL during pregnancy are understudied.

Methods: A multiple-choice questionnaire was distributed to postpartum women.

Obesity Prediction in Young Adults from the Jerusalem Perinatal Study: Contribution of Polygenic Risk and Early Life Exposures.

We assessed whether adding early life exposures to a model based on polygenic risk score (PRS) improves prediction of obesity risk. We used a birth cohort with data at birth and BMI and waist circumference (WC) measured at age 32. The PRS was composed of SNPs identified in GWAS for BMI.

Signs of aging in midlife: physical function and sex differences in microbiota.

Microbiota composition has been linked to physical activity, health measures, and biological age, but a shared profile has yet to be shown. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between microbiota composition and measures of function, such as a composite measure of physical capacity, and biological age in midlife, prior to onset of age-related diseases. Seventy healthy midlife individuals (age 44.

Receiving uncertain results from prenatal chromosomal microarray analysis: Women's decisions on continuation or termination of pregnancy.

Background: Chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) may detect variants of uncertain clinical significance (VUS) and susceptibility loci (SL) with incomplete penetrance for neurodevelopmental disorders. This qualitative study provides empirical data on women's experiences with receiving such findings in pregnancy and their decisions regarding continuation or termination of the pregnancy.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with women who received a VUS and/or SL from prenatal CMA in the last 2-4 years and were analyzed using Grounded Theory.

Familial aggregation of the aging process: biological age measured in young adult offspring as a predictor of parental mortality.

Measures of biological age (BA) integrate information across organ systems to quantify "biological aging," i.e., inter-individual differences in aging-related health decline.

The Relationships of Fibrinogen and C-Reactive Protein With Gait Performance: A 20-Year Longitudinal Study.

Background: Gait speed, a central marker of aging, has been linked to various health outcomes, such as cognitive and physical functions in middle-aged adults. Although long-term systemic low-grade inflammation is considered a mechanism underlying a variety of aging-related risk factors, the longitudinal associations between inflammation markers and gait speed are yet to be fully investigated.

Objective: To explore the associations of CRP and fibrinogen levels, measured two decades ago, with gait speed among community dwelling adults, considering the contribution of cardio-metabolic factors and cognition.

Postpartum women's attitudes to disclosure of adult-onset conditions in pregnancy.

Background: Advanced prenatal genomic technologies can identify risks for adult-onset (AO) conditions in the fetus, challenging the traditional purpose of prenatal testing. Professional guidelines commonly support disclosure of high-penetrance AO actionable conditions, yet attitudes of women/parents to these findings and factors affecting their attitudes are understudied.

Methods: We explored 941 (77% response rate) postpartum women's attitudes towards receiving prenatal genetic information, and associations of sociodemographic, medical and psychological characteristics with their choices, focusing on AO conditions.

Independent associations of inter-spousal gaps in age and education with long-term mortality and cancer survival: The Jerusalem Perinatal Study 1964-2016.

Purpose: To identify factors responsible for variation in health among married individuals, we investigated the independent associations of gaps in spousal age and education (or "heterogamy") with all-cause and cause-specific mortality as well as with survival of cancer patients.

Methods: Using over four decades of follow-up data on 36,717 couples from Jerusalem (1964-2016), we compared heterogamous with homogamous couples.

Results: Having a less educated spouse was associated with an increased risk for several outcomes in both genders, such as all-cause mortality in males (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.

What can we learn from physical capacity about biological age? A systematic review.

Objective: To systematically investigate the relationship between objective measures of physical capacity (e.g., cardio-respiratory fitness or daily step count) and biological age, measured in different ways.

Pre- and Perinatal Factors Predicting Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Population-Based Study with Fifty Years of Follow-Up.

Background: Pre- and perinatal events may be associated with an increased risk of inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]. We aimed to investigate the role of pre- and perinatal factors as potential risk factors for the development of IBD in a population with a follow-up of 50 years.

Methods: We conducted a nested case-control study, reporting IBD incidence among individuals born in 1964-76, for whom pre- and perinatal exposures were reported as part of the Jerusalem Perinatal Study [JPS], by linking them to the database of the epidemiology group of the Israeli IBD Research Nucleus [epi-IIRN], including all IBD patients in Israel since 2005 and their matched controls.

Perinatal socio-behavioral and obstetric predictors of metabolically healthy and unhealthy obesity in adult offspring.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether obstetric and perinatal socio-behavioral characteristics at the time of pregnancy predict obesity phenotypes of adult offspring.

Methods: The Jerusalem Perinatal Study was conducted among 17,003 deliveries during 1974 to 1976. Follow-up studies were conducted during 2007 to 2009 and 2017 to 2019 among 1,440 offspring undergoing examinations.

Covariate adjusted inference of parent-of-origin effects using case-control mother-child paired multilocus genotype data.

It is of great interest to identify parent-of-origin effects (POEs) since POEs play an important role in many human heritable disorders and human early life growth and development. POE is sometimes referred to as imprinting effect in the literature. Compared with the standard logistic regression analyses, retrospective likelihood-based statistical methods are more powerful in identifying POEs when data are collected from related individuals retrospectively.

Academic activism on behalf of children during the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel; beyond public health advocacy.

Among the challenges presented by the SARS-CoV2 pandemic are those related to balancing societal priorities with averting threats to population health. In this exceptional context a group of Israeli physicians and public health scholars (multidisciplinary academic group on children and coronavirus [MACC]) coalesced, examining the role of children in viral transmission and assessing the necessity and consequences of restricted in-class education. Combining critical appraisal and analytical skills with public health experience, MACC advocated for safe and monitored school re-opening, stressing the importance of education as a determinant of health, continuously weighing this stance against evolving COVID-19-risk data.

Early-life factors and adult anti-Müllerian hormone levels.

Aim: This study aims to examine whether early-life factors are associated with adult ovarian reserve, measured by anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels.

Methods: The work is based on the Jerusalem Perinatal Study (JPS), an extensive birth cohort with detailed information on all pregnancies and deliveries in Jerusalem between 1974 and 1976. A subset of individuals participated in a follow-up study that took place between 2007 and 2009 in which they completed questionnaires and were physically examined at mean age of 32.