ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Int. J. Public Health
Moderate wine consumption, defined by the Mediterranean Diet, is associated with delayed biological aging in men from the Moli-sani study
- SE
Simona Esposito 1,2
- AD
Augusto Di Castelnuovo 1
- SC
Simona Costanzo 1,3
- AG
Alessandro Gialluisi 1,2
- AP
Antonietta Pepe 2
- ER
Emilia Ruggiero 1
- AD
Amalia De Curtis 1
- SM
Sara Magnacca 1
- MP
Mariarosaria Persichillo 1
- FC
Francesc Casanovas-Garriga 4,5,6
- CC
Chiara Cerletti 1
- MB
Maria Benedetta Donati 1
- GD
Giovanni de Gaetano 1
- LI
Licia Iacoviello 1,2
- MB
Marialaura Bonaccio 1
1. Research Unit of Epidemiology and Prevention, Mediterranean Neurological Institute Neuromed (IRCCS), Pozzilli, Italy
2. Universita LUM Giuseppe Degennaro Dipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia, Casamassima, Italy
3. Department of Medicine and Surgery, Research Center in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine (EPIMED), University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
4. Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
5. Institut de Recerca en Nutrició i Seguretat Alimentaria (INSA-UB), University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
6. Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
Article metrics
4
Views
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract
Objectives: To investigate the association between wine consumption and biological aging in the Moli-sani Study. Methods: Dietary data were assessed using a 188-item FFQ. Participants (n=22,495) were classified as abstainers, former drinkers, moderate drinkers according to national guidelines (≤250 mL/d men; ≤125 mL/d women) or Mediterranean Diet (MD) (125–500 mL/d men; 62.5–250 mL/d women), and heavy drinkers (>500 mL/d men; >250 mL/d women). Biological age (BA) was estimated with a deep neural network using 36 circulating biomarkers, and ∆age (BA – chronological age) served as an index of biological aging. Results: In men, wine consumption, at doses defined moderate by a current MD Score, was associated with slower biological aging (∆age β = –0.39; 95%CI: –0.78, –0.01 vs. abstainers). Dose– response analyses showed a J-shaped curve, with the slowest ∆age at ~170 mL/d (∆age = –0.34 years; 95%CI: –0.66, –0.03). Overall ethanol intake, including all alcoholic beverages consumed, was neutral at moderate levels and associated with faster biological aging at higher doses. Conclusions: Moderate wine consumption, but not overall ethanol intake, may contribute to slower biological aging in men.
Summary
Keywords
Biological aging, Mediterranean diet, neurological decline, prevention, Wine consumption
Received
03 December 2025
Accepted
24 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Esposito, Di Castelnuovo, Costanzo, Gialluisi, Pepe, Ruggiero, De Curtis, Magnacca, Persichillo, Casanovas-Garriga, Cerletti, Donati, de Gaetano, Iacoviello and Bonaccio. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Licia Iacoviello
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.