Association between telomere length and neighborhood characteristics by race and region in US midlife and older adults.

ABSTRACT: Disadvantaged neighborhoods are correlated with worse health outcomes, particularly among US Blacks. However, less is known about the link between neighborhood characteristics and biomarkers of cellular age, such as telomere length (TL), which may be implicated in racial health inequities. Moreover, this relationship may vary across US region given patterns of racial segregation across the US. Therefore, this study analyzed 2008 Health and Retirement Study data on 3,869 US-born white and Black adults >50 years old to examine race differences in the relationship between salivary TL and (1) neighborhood safety, cleanliness, and social cohesion and (2) interactions between neighborhood characteristics and US region. Neighborhood characteristics were not associated with TL in whites. However,

SUBMITTER: Thierry AD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7266826 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature