Does faster biological aging cause lower lung function and COPD?

Low lung function from an early age can lead to chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and is associated with worse general health. Although smoking causes most COPD, many people who have never smoked also develop the disease. Often these people have had lower lung function in their youth.  

COPD, like many other conditions, is a disease of aging. One theory why some people might have lower lung function early in life is that they age faster than others at a biological level.  

Biological aging can be measured using blood tests, but we have limited understanding of the relationship between biological age, lung function and COPD. 

Project aims

We will investigate whether faster biological aging is associated with lower lung function over time in people aged 30 and under. We’ll use data collected as part of the Children of the 90s study.  

We will use genetic data to help us figure out whether faster biological aging actually causes lower lung function over time, instead of just being linked to it. 

We want to better understand why some people are at higher risk of developing COPD. We also want to see whether blood tests for biological aging might prove useful in predicting the disease, and whether drugs that appear to slow the aging process could have potential for preventing or treating COPD. 

What we hope to achieve

Our findings will inform further research into measures to prevent and treat COPD.