Hippocampal volume indexes neurobiological sensitivity to the effect of pollution burden on telomere length in adolescents.

Exposure to environmental pollutants has been associated with cellular aging in children and adolescents. Individuals may vary, however, in their sensitivity or vulnerability to the effects of environmental pollutants. Larger hippocampal volume has emerged as a potential index of increased sensitivity to social contexts. In exploratory analyses (N = 214), we extend work in this area by providing evidence that larger hippocampal volume in early adolescence reflects increased sensitivity to the effect of neighborhood pollution burden on telomere length (standardized β = -0.40, 95% CI[-0.65, -0.15]). In contrast, smaller hippocampal volume appears to buffer this association (standardized β = 0.02). In youth with larger hippocampal volume, pollution burden was indirectly associated with shorter telomere length approximately 2 years later through shorter telomere length at baseline (indirect standardized β = -0.25, 95% CI[-0.40, 0.10]). For these youth, living in high or low pollution-burdened neighborhoods may predispose them to develop shorter or longer telomeres, respectively, later in adolescence.