Department of Epidemiology and Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health, 1415 Washington Heights, 2663 SPH Tower, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, USA.
Soc Sci Med. 2013 May;85:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.02.023. Epub 2013 Feb 21.
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.
本研究旨在探讨社会经济地位（SES）与白细胞端粒长度（LTL）之间的关联。LTL 是一种细胞衰老的标志物，与生活压力有关。本研究的参与者是来自美国的 20 至 84 岁的成年人，他们具有代表性，在社会经济和种族方面具有多样性。我们使用了来自国家健康和营养检查调查（NHANES）的数据（1999-2002 年），发现未完成高中学业的受访者的端粒明显短于大学毕业的受访者。收入与 LTL 无关。非裔美国人的端粒明显比白人长，但在教育与端粒长度之间的关联上，没有明显的种族差异。最后，我们发现，教育与 LTL 之间的关联部分是通过吸烟和体重指数来介导的，但与饮酒或久坐行为无关。
