Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Socioeconomic Status, Financial Strain, and Leukocyte Telomere Length in a Sample of African American Midlife Men

  • Published:
Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

African American men in the USA experience poorer aging-related health outcomes compared to their White counterparts, partially due to socioeconomic disparities along racial lines. Greater exposure to socioeconomic strains among African American men may adversely impact health and aging at the cellular level, as indexed by shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL). This study examined associations between socioeconomic factors and LTL among African American men in midlife, a life course stage when heterogeneity in both health and socioeconomic status are particularly pronounced.

Methods

Using multinomial logistic regression, we examined associations between multiple measures of SES and tertiles of LTL in a sample of 92 African American men between 30 to 50 years of age.

Results

Reports of greater financial strain were associated with higher odds of short versus medium LTL (odds ratio (OR)=2.21, p = 0.03). Higher income was associated with lower odds of short versus medium telomeres (OR=0.97, p = 0.04). Exploratory analyses revealed a significant interaction between educational attainment and employment status (χ 2 = 4.07, p = 0.04), with greater education associated with lower odds of short versus long telomeres only among those not employed (OR=0.10, p = 0.040).

Conclusion

Cellular aging associated with multiple dimensions of socioeconomic adversity may contribute to poor aging-related health outcomes among African American men. Subjective appraisal of financial difficulty may impact LTL independently of objective dimensions of SES. Self-appraised success in fulfilling traditionally masculine gender roles, including being an economic provider, may be a particularly salient aspect of identity for African American men and have implications for cellular aging in this population.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Marmot MG, Shipley MJ, Rose G. Inequalities in death—specific explanations of a general pattern? Lancet. 1984;1:1003–6.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Clarke CA, Miller T, Chang ET, Yin D, Cockburn M, Gomez SL. Racial and social class gradients in life expectancy in contemporary California. Soc Sci Med. 2010;70:1373–80.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Fiscella K, Tancredi D. Socioeconomic status and coronary heart disease risk prediction. JAMA. 2008;300:2666–8.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Franks P, Gold MR, Fiscella K. Sociodemographics, self-rated health, and mortality in the US. Soc Sci Med. 2003;56:2505–14.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Lorant V, Deliege D, Eaton W, Robert A, Philippot P, Ansseau M. Socioeconomic inequalities in depression: a meta-analysis. Am J Epidemiol. 2003;157:98–112.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Adler NE, Stewart J. Health disparities across the lifespan: meaning, methods, and mechanisms. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2010;1186:5–23.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Do DP, Frank R, Finch BK. Does SES explain more of the black/white health gap than we thought? Revisiting our approach toward understanding racial disparities in health. Soc Sci Med. 2012;74:1385–93.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Farmer MM, Ferraro KF. 2005. Are racial disparities in health conditional on socioeconomic status? Soc Sci Med. 2005;60:191–204.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Ostrove JM, Feldman P, Adler NE. Relations among socioeconomic status indicators and health for African-Americans and whites. J Health Psychol. 1999;4:451–63.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Sweet E, McDade TW, Kiefe CI, Liu K. Relationships between skin color, income, and blood pressure among African Americans in the CARDIA study. Am J Public Health. 2007;97:2253–9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Gruenewald TL, Cohen S, Matthews KA, Tracy R, Seeman TE. Association of socioeconomic status with inflammation markers in black and white men and women in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. Soc Sci Med. 2009;69:451–9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Sims M, Diez Roux AV, Boykin S, Sarpong D, Gebreab SY, Wyatt SB, et al. The socioeconomic gradient of diabetes prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control among African Americans in the Jackson Heart Study. Ann Epidemiol. 2011;21:892–8.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Yaffe K, Falvey C, Harris TB, Newman A, Satterfield S, Koster A, et al. Effect of socioeconomic disparities on incidence of dementia among biracial older adults: prospective study. BMJ. 2013;347:f7051.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Winkleby MA, Cubbin C. Influence of individual and neighbourhood socioeconomic status on mortality among Black, Mexican-American, and White women and men in the United States. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2003;57:444–52.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Griffith DM. An intersectional approach to men’s health. Am J Mens Health. 2012;9:106–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Hammond WP, Mattis JS. Being a man about it: manhood meaning among African American men. Psychol Men Masculin. 2005;6:114–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Mendez DD, Hogan VK, Culhane J. Institutional racism and pregnancy health: using Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data to develop an index for mortgage discrimination at the community level. Public Health Rep. 2011;126:102–14.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Pager D, Shepherd H. The sociology of discrimination: racial discrimination in employment, housing, credit, and consumer markets. Annu Rev Sociol. 2008;34:181–209.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Stolzenberg L, D'Alessio SJ, Eitle D. Race and cumulative discrimination in the prosecution of criminal defendants. Race Justice. 2013;3:275–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Isaacs J, Sawhill I, Haskins R. Getting ahead or losing ground: economic mobility in America. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution; 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Griffith DM, Ellis KR, Allen JO. An intersectional approach to social determinants of stress for African American men: men’s and women’s perspectives. Am J Mens Health. 2013;7:19S–30S.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Watkins DC, Walker RL, Griffith DM. A meta-study of Black male mental health and well-being. J Black Psychol. 2010;36:303–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Williams DR. The health of men: structured inequalities and opportunities. Am J Public Health. 2003;93:724–31.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Gilbert KL, Ray R, Siddiqi A, Shetty S, Baker EA, Elder K, et al. Visible and invisible trends in Black men's health: pitfalls and promises for addressing racial, ethnic, and gender inequities in health. Annu Rev Public Health. 2016;37:295–311.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Khan JR, Pearlin LI. Financial strain over the life course and health among older adults. J Health Soc Behav. 2006;47:17–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Shippee TP, Wilkinson LR, Ferraro KF. Accumulated financial strain and women’s health over three decades. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2012;67:585–94.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  27. Szanton SL, Allen JK, Thorpe RJ Jr, Seeman T, Bandeen-Roche K, Fried LP. Effect of financial strain on mortality in community-dwelling older women. The J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2008;63:S369–74.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Szanton SL, Thorpe RJ, Whitfield K. Life-course financial strain and health in African-Americans. Soc Sci Med. 2010;71:259–65.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Puterman E, Adler NE, Matthews KA, Epel E. Financial strain and impaired fasting glucose: the moderating role of physical activity in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study. Psychosom Med. 2012;74:187–92.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. McEwen BS, Gianaros PJ. Central role of the brain in stress and adaptation: links to socioeconomic status, health, and disease. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2010;1186:190–222.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  31. Finkel T, Holbrook NJ. Oxidants, oxidative stress and the biology of ageing. Nature. 2000;408:239–47.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Willeit P, Willeit J, Brandstätter A, Ehrlenbach S, Mayr A, Gasperi A, et al. Cellular aging reflected by leukocyte telomere length predicts advanced atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease risk. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2010;30:1649–56.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Boonekamp JJ, Simons MJP, Hemerik L, Verhulst S. Telomere length behaves as a biomarker of somatic redundancy rather than biological age. Aging Cell. 2013;12:330–2.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Grodstein F, van Oijen M, Irizarry MC, Rosas HD, Hyman BT, Growdon JH, et al. Shorter telomeres may mark early risk of dementia: preliminary analysis of 62 participants from the Nurses’ Health Study. PLoS One. 2008;3:e1590.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Aubert G, Lansdorp PM. Telomeres and aging. Physiol Rev. 2008;88:557–79.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Richter T, von Zglinicki T. A continuous correlation between oxidative stress and telomere shortening in fibroblasts. Exp Geront. 2007;42:1039–42.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. O’Donovan A, Pantell MS, Puterman E, Dhabhar FS, Blackburn EH, Yaffe K, et al. Cumulative inflammatory load is associated with short leukocyte telomere length in the health. Aging and Body Composition Study PLoS One. 2011;6:19687.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Wolkowitz OM, Mellon SH, Epel ES, Lin J, Dhabhar FS, Su Y, et al. Leukocyte telomere length in major depression: correlations with chronicity, inflammation, and oxidative stress—preliminary findings. PLoS One. 2011;6:e17837.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Simon NM, Smoller JW, McNamara KL, Maser RS, Zalta AK, Pollack MH, et al. Telomere shortening and mood disorders: preliminary support for a chronic stress model of accelerated aging. Biol Psychiatry. 2006;60:432–5.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Damjanovic AK, Yang Y, Glaser R, Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Nguyen H, Laskowski B, et al. Accelerated telomere erosion is associated with a declining immune function of caregivers of Alzheimer’s disease patients. J Immunol. 2007;179:4249–54.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Gouin J, Weng N, Malarkey WB, Beversdorf DQ, Glaser R. Childhood adversity heightens the impact of later-life caregiving stress on telomere length and inflammation. Psychosom Med. 2011;73:16–22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Shiels PG, McGlynn LM, MacIntyre A, Johnson PC, Batty GD, Burns H, et al. Accelerated telomere attrition is associated with relative household income, diet and inflammation in the pSoBid cohort. PLoS One. 2011;6:e22521.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Robertson T, Batty GD, Der G, Green MJ, McGlynn LM, McIntyre A, et al. Is telomere length socially patterned? Evidence from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study. PLoS One. 2012;7:e41805.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Adler NE, Pantell MS, O’Donovan A, Blackburn E, Cawthon R, Koster A, et al. Educational attainment and late life telomere length in the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study. Brain Behav Immun. 2013;27:15–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Carroll JE, Diez-Roux AV, Adler NE, Seeman TE. Socioeconomic factors and leukocyte telomere length in a multi-ethnic sample: findings from the Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Brain Behav Immun. 2013;28:108–14.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Needham BL, Adler N, Gregorich S, Rehkopf D, Lin J, Blackburn EH, et al. Socioeconomic status, health behavior, and leukocyte telomere length in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2002. Soc Sci Med. 2013;85:1–8.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  47. Adams J, Martin-Ruiz C, Pearce M, White M, Parker L, von Zglinicki T. No association between socio-economic status and white blood cell telomere length. Aging Cell. 2007;6:125–8.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Batty GD, Wang Y, Brouilette SW, Shiels P, Packard C, Moore J, et al. Socioeconomic status and telomere length: the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2009;63:839–41.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Chae DH, Nuru-Jeter AM, Adler NE. Implicit racial bias as a moderator between racial discrimination and hypertension: a study of midlife African American men. Psychosom Med. 2012;74:961–4.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  50. Chae DH, Nuru-Jeter AM, Adler NE, Brody GH, Lin J, Blackburn EH, et al. Discrimination, racial bias, and telomere length in African-American men. Am J Prev Med. 2014;46:103–11.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  51. McDade TW, Williams S, Snodgrass JJ. What a drop can do: dried blood spots as a minimally invasive method for integrating biomarkers into population-based research. Demography. 2007;44:899–925.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Cawthon RM. Telomere measurement by quantitative PCR. Nucleic Acids Res. 2002;30:e47.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  53. Lin J, Epel E, Cheon J, Kroenke C, Sinclair E, Bigos M, et al. Analyses and comparisons of telomerase activity and telomere length in human T and B cells: insights for epidemiology of telomere maintenance. J Immunol Methods. 2010;352:71–80.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. Yaffe K, Lindquist K, Kluse M, Cawthon R, Harris T, Hsueh WC, et al. Telomere length and cognitive function in community dwelling elders: findings from the Health ABC study. Neurobiol Aging. 2011;32:2055–60.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  55. Geronimus AT, Pearson JA, Linnenbringer E, Schulz AJ, Reyes AG, Epel ES, et al. Race-ethnicity, poverty, urban stressors, and telomere length, in a Detroit community-based sample. J Health Soc Behav. 2015;56:199–224.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  56. Litwin H, Sapir EV. Perceived income inadequacy in older adults in 12 countries: findings from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Gerontologist. 2009;49:397–406.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  57. Entringer S, Epel ES, Kumsta R, Lin J, Hellhammer DH, Blackburn EH, et al. Stress exposure in intrauterine life is associated with shorter telomere length in young adulthood. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011;108:e513–8.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  58. Epel ES, Blackburn EH, Lin J, Dhabhar FS, Adler NE, Morrow JD, et al. Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004;101:17312–5.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Drury SS, Theall K, Gleason MM, Smyke AT, De Vivo I, Wong JY, et al. Telomere length and early severe social deprivation: linking early adversity and cellular aging. Mol Psychiatry. 2012;17:719–27.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. Ross CE, Mirowski J. The interaction of personal and parental education on health. Soc Sci Med. 2011;72:591–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Ross CE, Mirowski J. Sex differences in the effect of education on depression: resource multiplication or resource substitution? Soc Sci Med. 2006;63:1400–13.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Grants K01AG041787 to D.H.C. and P30 AG015281 to R.J.T.; the University of California, Berkeley Population Center; the University of California, San Francisco Health Disparities Group; and the Emory University Race and Difference Initiative. We thank the respondents of the Bay Area Heart Health Study for their participation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, 1218 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA

    Joshua M. Schrock

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Center for Health and Community, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Nancy E. Adler & Elissa S. Epel

  3. Divisions of Community Health Sciences and Epidemiology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Amani M. Nuru-Jeter

  4. Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Jue Lin & Elizabeth H. Blackburn

  5. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Elizabeth H. Blackburn

  6. School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Robert Joseph Taylor

  7. Department of Human Development & Family Studies, College of Human Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA

    David H. Chae

Authors
  1. Joshua M. Schrock
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nancy E. Adler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Elissa S. Epel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Amani M. Nuru-Jeter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jue Lin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Elizabeth H. Blackburn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Robert Joseph Taylor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. David H. Chae
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joshua M. Schrock.

Ethics declarations

Disclosure Statement

J.L. is a co-founder of Telomere Diagnostics Inc. and serves on its scientific advisory board. The company plays no role in the current study. No other financial disclosures were reported by the authors of this paper.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Schrock, J.M., Adler, N.E., Epel, E.S. et al. Socioeconomic Status, Financial Strain, and Leukocyte Telomere Length in a Sample of African American Midlife Men. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 5, 459–467 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-017-0388-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-017-0388-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation