Risky family climates presage increased cellular aging in young adulthood

Gene H Brody; Tianyi Yu; Edith Chen; Michael Kobor; Steven R H Beach; Man-Kit Lei; Ashley Barr; David Tse-Shen Lin; Gregory E Miller

doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105256

Risky family climates presage increased cellular aging in young adulthood

Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2021 Aug:130:105256. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105256. Epub 2021 May 14.

Authors

Gene H Brody¹, Tianyi Yu¹, Edith Chen², Michael Kobor³, Steven R H Beach⁴, Man-Kit Lei⁵, Ashley Barr⁶, David Tse-Shen Lin⁷, Gregory E Miller²

Affiliations

¹ Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, 1095 College Station Road, Athens 30602-4527, GA, USA.
² Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
³ Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
⁴ Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, 1095 College Station Road, Athens 30602-4527, GA, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
⁵ Department of Sociology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
⁶ Department of Sociology, University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA.
⁷ British Columbia Children's Hospital Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Abstract

A scientific consensus is emerging that children reared in risky family climates are prone to chronic diseases and premature death later in life. Few prospective data, however, are available to inform the mechanisms of these relationships. In a prospective study involving 323 Black families, we sought to determine whether, and how, childhood risky family climates are linked to a potential risk factor for later-life disease: increases in cellular aging (indexed by epigenetic aging). As hypothesized, risky family climates were associated with greater outflows of the stress hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine at ages 19 and 20 years; this, in turn, led to increases in cellular aging across ages 20-27 years. If sustained, these tendencies may place children from risky family climates on a trajectory toward the chronic diseases of aging.

Keywords: Catecholamine; Cellular aging; Risky family climate; Young adulthood.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Adult
Aging*
Cellular Senescence*
Child
Chronic Disease
Humans
Prospective Studies
Risk Factors
Young Adult

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding