title: Financial strain is associated with increased oxidative stress levels: the Women's Health and Aging Studies.
abstract: Elevated oxidative stress levels may be one mechanism contributing to poor health outcomes. Financial strain and oxidative stress are each predictors of morbidity and mortality, but little research has investigated their relationship. Community-dwelling older adults (n = 728) from the Women's Health and Aging Studies I and II were included in this cross-sectional analysis. Financial strain was ascertained as an ordinal response to: "At the end of the month, do you have more than enough money left over, just enough, or not enough?" Oxidative stress was measured using serum protein carbonyl concentrations. Linear regression was used to quantify the relationship between financial strain and oxidative stress. Participants who reported high financial strain exhibited 13.4% higher protein carbonyl concentrations compared to individuals who reported low financial strain (p = 0.002). High financial strain may be associated with increased oxidative stress, suggesting that oxidative stress could mediate associations between financial strain and poor health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. Electronic address: priya_palta@unc.edu.
authors.forename: Priya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Palta
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Szanton
authors.affiliation: Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Richard D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Semba
authors.affiliation: Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Roland J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Thorpe
authors.affiliation: Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA; Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Varadhan
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Linda P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Fried
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005382:Financing, Personal; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D016387:Women's Health
keywords: Financial strain; Older adults; Oxidative stress