Fig. 3: Associations of selected metabolites constituting the metabolomic signatures with corresponding dietary pattern scores and biological aging.

A EAT-Lancet index. B PDI. C hPDI. D uPDI. Each panel presented from right to left is the metabolites’ coefficients (weights) in the metabolomic signatures and their associations with biological aging and diet pattern exposure. Coefficients for associations with diet pattern index indicate the SD changes in metabolites per SD increment in dietary intake. Coefficients for biological aging indicate an estimate (β) of biological aging measures per SD increment in metabolites. Colors indicate the direction of association, with red representing positive associations and blue indicating inverse associations. The darkness of the color corresponds to the magnitude of the association. Asterisks denote statistical significance, with one indicating P < 0.05 and two indicating Bonferroni-corrected P < 0.05. PDI plant-based diet index; HPDI healthy plant-based diet index; UPDI unhealthy plant-based diet index; KDM-BA Klemera-Doubal biological age; PhenoAge phenotypic age; BCAA branched-chain amino acids; C cholesterol; CE cholesteryl ester; isoleucine; FC free cholesterol; HDL high-density lipoprotein; IDL intermediate-density lipoprotein; Ile isoleucine; L large; LDL low-density lipoproteins; M medium; PL phospholipid; PUFA polyunsaturated fatty acids; S small; TG triglyceride; VLDL very LDL; XL very large; XS very small; XXL especially large.