title: Socioeconomic status, health behavior, and leukocyte telomere length in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2002.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and leukocyte telomere length (LTL) - a marker of cell aging that has been linked to stressful life circumstances - in a nationally representative, socioeconomically and ethnically diverse sample of US adults aged 20-84. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999-2002, we found that respondents who completed less than a high school education had significantly shorter telomeres than those who graduated from college. Income was not associated with LTL. African-Americans had significantly longer telomeres than whites, but there were no significant racial/ethnic differences in the association between education and telomere length. Finally, we found that the association between education and LTL was partially mediated by smoking and body mass index but not by drinking or sedentary behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health, 1415 Washington Heights, 2663 SPH Tower, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, USA. needhamb@umich.edu
authors.forename: Belinda L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Needham
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Adler
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gregorich
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rehkopf
authors.forename: Jue
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Elizabeth H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Blackburn
authors.forename: Elissa S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Epel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000208:ethnology; D015415:Biomarkers; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016922:Cellular Senescence; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D057185:Sedentary Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology; D012923:Social Class; D016615:Telomere / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
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