Danielle L Beatty Moody1, Daniel K Leibel2, Taylor M Darden2, Jason J Ashe2, Shari R Waldstein3, Leslie I Katzel4, Hans B Liu5, Nan-Ping Weng6, Michele K Evans7, Alan B Zonderman7. 1. Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: dlbeatty@umbc.edu. 2. Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA. 3. Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA; Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, USA. 4. Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, USA. 5. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA. 6. Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, USA. 7. Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Studies have linked self-reported discrimination to telomere attrition, a biological marker of accelerated cellular aging. However, it is unknown whether intersections between social categories-race, socioeconomic status (SES), sex, and age-influence the association of varying forms of discrimination with telomere length. We examined these associations in a socioeconomically and racially/ethnically diverse urban sample. METHODS: Cross-sectional data were from 341 middle-aged (30-64 years) African American and White, community participants in the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span Study (HANDLS). Multiple regression models examined up to 3-way interactions between a discrimination measure (i.e., everyday, racial, gender, lifetime burden, and frequency of discrimination across sources) and two social categories. RESULTS: After adjusting for depressive symptoms, waist circumference, and lifetime substance use, two themes emerged: 1) among women with higher SES, a) greater lifetime discrimination burden (b = -0.23, p = .011), gender discrimination (b = -0.29, p = .040), and racial discrimination (b = -0.24, p = 0.023) and 2) among younger adults, irrespective of race and sex, greater frequency of discrimination across sources (b = 0.002, p = .008) was associated with shorter telomeres. CONCLUSIONS: Irrespective of race, women with higher SES and younger adults reporting greater discrimination may be at particular risk for accelerated aging. Telomere attrition promotes and accelerates chronic health conditions for which there are health disparities. Future research explicating intersections among specific discrimination indices and social categories is warranted.
OBJECTIVE: Studies have linked self-reported discrimination to telomere attrition, a biological marker of accelerated cellular aging. However, it is unknown whether intersections between social categories-race, socioeconomic status (SES), sex, and age-influence the association of varying forms of discrimination with telomere length. We examined these associations in a socioeconomically and racially/ethnically diverse urban sample. METHODS: Cross-sectional data were from 341 middle-aged (30-64 years) African American and White, community participants in the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span Study (HANDLS). Multiple regression models examined up to 3-way interactions between a discrimination measure (i.e., everyday, racial, gender, lifetime burden, and frequency of discrimination across sources) and two social categories. RESULTS: After adjusting for depressive symptoms, waist circumference, and lifetime substance use, two themes emerged: 1) among women with higher SES, a) greater lifetime discrimination burden (b = -0.23, p = .011), gender discrimination (b = -0.29, p = .040), and racial discrimination (b = -0.24, p = 0.023) and 2) among younger adults, irrespective of race and sex, greater frequency of discrimination across sources (b = 0.002, p = .008) was associated with shorter telomeres. CONCLUSIONS: Irrespective of race, women with higher SES and younger adults reporting greater discrimination may be at particular risk for accelerated aging. Telomere attrition promotes and accelerates chronic health conditions for which there are health disparities. Future research explicating intersections among specific discrimination indices and social categories is warranted.
Authors: L F Cherkas; A Aviv; A M Valdes; J L Hunkin; J P Gardner; G L Surdulescu; M Kimura; T D Spector Journal: Aging Cell Date: 2006-10 Impact factor: 9.304
Authors: Danielle L Beatty Moody; Daniel K Leibel; Elizabeth J Pantesco; Carrington R Wendell; Shari R Waldstein; Michele K Evans; Alan B Zonderman Journal: Psychosom Med Date: 2020 Feb/Mar Impact factor: 3.864
Authors: LáShauntá M Glover; Crystal W Cené; Alexander Reiner; Samson Gebreab; David R Williams; Kari E North; Mario Sims Journal: Healthcare (Basel) Date: 2021-05-28