Perceived neighborhood problems are associated with shorter telomere length in African American women

Abstract

Objectives African Americans (AA) experience higher levels of stress related to living in racially segregated and poor neighborhoods. However, little is known about the associations between perceived neighborhood environments and cellular aging among adult AA. This study examined whether perceived neighborhood environments were associated with telomere length (TL) in AA after adjustment for individual-level risk factors. Methods The analysis included 158 women and 75 men AA aged 30 to 55 years from the Morehouse School of Medicine Study. Relative TL (T/S ratio) was measured from peripheral blood leukocytes using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Multivariable linear regression models were used to examine the associations of perceived neighborhood social cohesion, problems, and overall unfavorable perceptions with log-TL. Results Women had significantly longer TL than men (0.59 vs. 0.54, p=0.012). After controlling for sociodemographic, and biomedical and psychosocial factors, a 1-SD increase in perceived neighborhood problems was associated with 7.3% shorter TL in women (Mean Difference [MD] = −0.073 (Standard Error =0.03), p = 0.012). Overall unfavorable perception of neighborhood was also associated with 5.9% shorter TL among women (MD = – 0.059(0.03), p= 0.023). Better perceived social cohesion were associated with 2.4 % longer TL, but did not reach statistical significance (MD = 0.024(0.02), p=0.218). No association was observed between perceived neighborhood environments and TL in men. Conclusions Our findings suggest that perceived neighborhood environments may be predictive of cellular aging in AA women even after accounting for individual-level risk factors. Additional research with a larger sample is needed to determine whether perceived neighborhood environments are causally related to TL.

Shortened telomere length is associated with unfair treatment attributed to race in African Americans living in Tallahassee, Florida

“…Low SES is believed to increase stress levels, and differences in SES are commonly cited as a possible explanation for differences in TL between African Americans and European Americans (eg, Gebreab et al, ; Geronimus et al, ; Needham et al, ; Theall et al, ). While many of these studies have found inverse associations between measures of SES and both TL and rate of telomere shortening in African Americans (eg, Needham et al, ; Schrock et al, ), others have failed to do so, while simultaneously reporting associations that link TL with discrimination (Chae et al, ; Lee et al, ; this study).…”

“…In addition to discrimination, chronic stress stemming from differences in SES is often investigated as a possible explanation for disparities in rates of telomere shortening between African Americans and European Americans (Gebreab et al, ; Geronimus et al, ; Needham et al, ; Theall, Brett, Shirtcliff, Dunn, & Drury, ). Financial strain, education years completed, and household income are some of the most commonly tested SES measures, and all have been associated with either shorter TL or increased telomere attrition in African American cohort studies (Needham et al, ; Schrock et al, ; Shiels et al, ).…”

Neighborhood environment, social cohesion, and epigenetic aging

“…Growing evidence suggests that accelerated biological aging at the cellular-and molecular-levels may help to explain the mechanisms linking adverse neighborhood environments to mortality (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19). Epigenetic mechanisms, particularly DNA methylation (DNAm), has offered promising insights into possible molecular pathways.…”

“…Accordingly, our study sought to investigate both the independent and joint impacts of neighborhood quality and social cohesion on three measures of DNAm aging-Horvath's epigenetic clock, Hannum's epigenetic clock, and Levine's PhenoAge-among a sample of predominately Black adults living in Detroit, MI (23)(24)(25). Given previous work suggesting biological aging biomarkers may differ by gender and with respect to area-level environmental characteristics (12,29,34), we investigated associations stratified by gender as well as in the full sample.…”

Telomere Length Assessment for Prediction of Organ Transplantation Outcome. Future or Failure: A Review of the Literature

“…While apoptosis – programmed cell death – is the cause of aging, alteration of the cycle and cell immortality are the hallmarks of cancer development [4]. It is known that factors like age, sex, or stress influence telomere length [5–8]. However, not least important are the genetic factors, especially because several polymorphisms significantly affect telomere erosion.…”