Furumoto-Dawson Alice, Gehlert Sarah, Sohmer Dana, Olopade Olufunmilayo, Sacks Tina
Center for Interdisciplinary Health Disparities Research (CIHDR), University of Chicago, IL, USA.
Health Aff (Millwood). 2007 Sep-Oct;26(5):1238-48. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.26.5.1238.
The social status of groups is key to determining health vulnerability at the population level. The impact of material and psychological stresses imposed by social inequities and marginalization is felt most intensely during perinatal/early childhood and puberty/adolescent periods, when developmental genes are expressed and interact with social-physical environments. The influence of chronic psychosocial stresses on gene expression via neuroendocrine regulatory dysfunction is crucial to understanding the biological bases of adult health vulnerability. Studying childhood biology vulnerabilities to neighborhood environments will aid the crafting of multifaceted, multilevel public policy interventions providing immediate benefits and compounded long-term population health yields.
群体的社会地位是在人群层面确定健康脆弱性的关键。社会不平等和边缘化所带来的物质和心理压力的影响，在围产期/幼儿期以及青春期/青少年期感受最为强烈，此时发育基因得以表达并与社会物理环境相互作用。慢性心理社会压力通过神经内分泌调节功能障碍对基因表达产生的影响，对于理解成人健康脆弱性的生物学基础至关重要。研究儿童时期生物学上对邻里环境的脆弱性，将有助于制定多方面、多层次的公共政策干预措施，这些措施能带来直接益处，并使长期人群健康收益不断增加。
