A multi-center team at Imperial College London quantifies telomere length and cortisol levels in over 1,100 European children categorized by family affluence. They use blood samples to measure telomere length and urine analysis for cortisol, revealing that lower socioeconomic status correlates with accelerated cellular aging, independent of diet, BMI, and parental smoking, underscoring early health disparities.
Key points
- Leukocyte telomere length is 5% shorter in low-affluence children versus high-affluence peers.
- Urinary cortisol levels are 15–22.8% lower in medium/high-affluence groups, indicating stress differences.
- Association between affluence and telomere length persists after adjusting for diet, BMI, and parental smoking.
Why it matters: Linking socioeconomic background to cellular ageing in children underscores the need for targeted public health policies to reduce lifelong health disparities.
Q&A
- What are telomeres?
- How does family affluence affect telomere length?
- Why measure cortisol in this study?
- Can telomere shortening be reversed?