Fig. 4

Graphical display of the path analysis model showing only the p < 0.05 significant standardized estimates for the multiple regression analyses with the four markers of biological age as endogenous variables (bottom). The analysis's exogenous variables comprised the other respective aging biomarkers, sex, gestational age, newborn ethnicity, birthweight, maternal smoking, maternal education, maternal early-pregnancy BMI, and parity. For TL and mtDNA content, additionally, white blood cell count, season of delivery and parental age, and for global methylation cell-type distribution according to Bakulski [51], were included as covariates. The coefficients in the figure were standardized, representing a 1 SD change in each exposure pathway. Red color stands for negative and green color for positive associations. The arrow's width indicates the degree of correlation, with wider arrows indicating higher correlation. Significant associations between cord blood cell composition and white blood cell count are not shown for the sake of clarity. DNAmAge = epigenetic age calculated according to Horvath [9]; Gestat.Age = gestational age in days; Globalm = global DNA methylation; TL = relative telomere length; mtDNA = mitochondrial DNA content; Warm Season = warm season (April 1 – September 30). *p < 0.05; **p < 0.001