title: Economic hardship and biological weathering: The epigenetics of aging in a U.S. sample of black women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Past research has linked low socio-economic status (SES) to inflammation, metabolic dysregulation, and various chronic and age-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and dementia. These studies suggest that the challenges and adversities associated with low SES may result in premature aging and increased risk of morbidity and mortality.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Building upon this research, the present study investigates various avenues whereby low income might accelerate biological aging.
  
  
  METHODS
  Structural equation modeling and longitudinal data from a sample of 100 Black, middle-aged women residing in the United States was used to investigate the effect of income on a recently developed epigenetic measure of biological aging. This measure can be used as a "biological clock" to assess, at any point during adulthood, the extent to which an individual is experiencing accelerated or decelerated biological aging.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Low income displayed a robust association with accelerated aging that was unaffected after controlling for other SES-related factors such as education, marital status, and childhood adversity. Further, our analyses indicated that the association between income and biological aging was not explained by health-related behaviors such as diet, exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, or having health insurance. Rather, in large measure, it was financial pressure (difficulty paying bills, buying necessities, or meeting daily expenses) that accounted for the association between low income and accelerated aging.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings support the view that chronic financial pressures associated with low income exert a weathering effect that results in premature aging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30606, USA. Electronic address: rsimons@uga.edu.
authors.forename: Ronald L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Simons
authors.affiliation: Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Man Kit
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Steven R H
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Beach
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, USA.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Philibert
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Iowa State University, USA.
authors.forename: Carolyn E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Cutrona
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, USA.
authors.forename: Frederick X
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Gibbons
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, SUNY Buffalo, USA.
authors.forename: Ashley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barr
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019588:Aging, Premature / Q000209:etiology*; D057172:Economic Recession / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057890:Epigenomics; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000208:ethnology
keywords: Accelerated aging; Biological aging; Biological clock; Financial pressure; Methylation and aging