Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA.
Child Dev. 2024 Nov-Dec;95(6):2232-2240. doi: 10.1111/cdev.14126. Epub 2024 Jun 29.
Telomere length (TL) serves as a biomarker of exposure to stressors, including material hardship. Data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (1998-2015) were utilized to determine whether prior material hardship was associated with shorter salivary TL at years 9 and 15. 49% of the year 9 study population were female, 49% were Black, and 25% were Hispanic. At year 9 (N = 1990), regression analyses found a significant association between prior material hardship and shorter TL (β = -.005, p < .01). Additionally, at year 15 (N = 1874), material hardship experienced during infancy and toddlerhood was associated with shorter TL (β = -.009, p < .01), pointing toward infancy and toddlerhood as a sensitive period.
端粒长度 (TL) 可作为应激暴露的生物标志物,包括物质困难。利用未来家庭和儿童福利研究(1998-2015 年)的数据,确定先前的物质困难是否与 9 岁和 15 岁时唾液 TL 较短有关。9 岁研究人群中,49%为女性,49%为黑人,25%为西班牙裔。在 9 岁时(N=1990),回归分析发现先前的物质困难与较短的 TL 之间存在显著关联(β=-.005,p<.01)。此外,在 15 岁时(N=1874),婴儿期和幼儿期经历的物质困难与较短的 TL 相关(β=-.009,p<.01),表明婴儿期和幼儿期是一个敏感时期。