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

Abstract

Objectives: Experiences of interpersonal discrimination are pervasive stressors in the lives of African Americans. Increased discrimination stress may cause premature aging. Telomere length (TL) is a plastic genetic trait that is an emerging indicator of cellular health and aging. Short TL is a risk factor for the earlier onset of disease. TL shortens with age, a process that may be accelerated by psychosocial stress. Our study explores the relationship between TL and experiences of discrimination in the form of self-reported unfair treatment (UT). Methods: Using a qPCR-based method, we measured TL in DNA from saliva samples provided by 135 African American adults from Tallahassee, FL. We developed discrimination measures using a modified survey that explores nine social domains of self-reported unfair treatment experienced both directly and indirectly.We used multiple regression to examine associations between UT and TL. Results: We found that racial discrimination in the form of self-reported unfair treatment attributed to race (UT-Race-Self) is inversely associated with TL. Conclusions: The significant association between increased UT-Race-Self and shorter telomeres supports the hypothesis that psychosocial stress stemming from racial discrimination may affect TL. The potential impact of discrimination on TL may contribute to premature biological aging and racial health inequalities seen in African Americans.

Applying minimally invasive biomarkers of chronic stress across complex ecological contexts

“…For example, methods are now available for reliable extraction from DBS of DNA suitable for measuring telomere length (Rej et al, 2021). Telomeres shorten with age, leading to elevated risk of poor health, but there also is evidence that they shorten more rapidly in light of chronic stress; for example, among African American adults in Florida experiencing greater racial discrimination (Rej et al, 2020).…”

Earth Dreams: Reimagining ARPA for Health of People, Places and Planet

“…An exposome approach presents an opportunity to query the specifics of health inequities, such as structural racism. For example, among the biomarkers of cellular age, telomere length may provide insight; at the individual level and over the long-term, shorter telomere length (indicating long-term cellular damage) has been noted in association with racial discrimination [ 131 , 132 ], and neighborhood disadvantage measured via census tract adult education, poverty rate, and unemployment, are associated with shorter telomere length [ 133 ] At the larger scale, examinations of telomere length and neighborhood characteristics are providing a better understanding of the ways in which exposure to neighborhood level (historical and current) discrimination can influence cellular damage [ 134 , 135 ].…”

Biocultural Strategies for Measuring Psychosocial Stress Outcomes in Field-based Research

“…While currently challenging to interpret, measures of cellular aging, such as telomere length, have the potential to be used to assess the longer-term effects of psychosocial stress on the body not visible through other means (Epel et al 2004; Marioni et al 2016; Rentscher et al 2020; Zahran et al 2015). For example, racial discrimination, but not other forms of unfair treatment, was associated with shortened telomeres among African Americans in Tallahassee, Florida, suggesting that lifetime exposure to racism may be uniquely stressful (Rej et al 2020).…”