Nat Commun. 2026 Jan 21. doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-68617-8. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
As the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in children continues to rise globally, identifying modifiable lifestyle factors becomes increasingly important for early prevention. Here, using data from a large-scale cohort (2021-2024) involving 7459 Chinese children from three provinces, we examine the association between eating timing patterns and multiple cardiovascular parameters. Participants are classified into three eating patterns: extended eating window (duration more than 12.5 hours), late eating window (duration 12.5 hours or less with last meal after 20:00), and early eating window (duration 12.5 hours or less with last meal at or before 20:00). Early eating window is associated with a 26% lower risk of elevated blood pressure (odds ratio: 0.74, 95% confidence interval: 0.65-0.84, p < 0.001) compared to extended eating window. We conduct a nested case-control study (n = 51) with comprehensive lipidomic and proteomic analyses. Proteomics identifies 83 differentially expressed proteins, with enrichment in cardiac muscle contraction and lipid metabolism pathways. Mediation analysis demonstrates that triacylglycerols mediate 64.8% of the effect between eating patterns and blood pressure. Our findings suggest associations between early eating windows and protective cardiovascular parameters in children, potentially mediated through lipid metabolism pathways.
PMID:41565652 | DOI:10.1038/s41467-026-68617-8