Poverty, Material Hardship, and Telomere Length Among Latina/o Children
- PMID: 34047997
- PMCID: PMC8162160
- DOI: 10.1007/s40615-021-01072-x
Poverty, Material Hardship, and Telomere Length Among Latina/o Children
Abstract
Background: Despite increased attention on the links between poverty and the health and wellbeing of youth, few have attempted to understand the physiological consequences associated with different forms of economic disadvantage among Latina/o children. The present study begins to address this gap by (1) examining whether different forms of economic disadvantage were related to telomere length for Latina/o children and (2) determining whether parents' nativity shapes economic disadvantage-telomere length relationships.
Methods: Data were drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal, stratified multistage probability sample of couples and children in 20 large US cities. The sample consisted of 417 Latina/o children and their parents that were followed from birth to age 9. Ordinary least squares regressions were used to examine relationships between economic disadvantage and telomere length.
Results: Findings revealed that poverty status was not significantly related to telomere length, whereas some forms of material hardship were shown to play a role in the risk of premature cellular aging. More specifically, medical hardship and difficulty paying bills were associated with shorter telomere length at age 9. Results also provide minimal evidence economic disadvantage-telomere length patterns varied by parents' nativity. Only medical hardship was related to shorter telomere length at age 9 for children with at least one foreign-born parent.
Conclusion: Overall, results indicate that the risk of premature cellular aging depends on the measure of economic disadvantage under investigation. Findings from this study can inform targeted strategies designed to reduce the deleterious consequences associated with economic deprivation.
Keywords: Latina/o health; Material hardship; Nativity; Telomere length.
© 2021. W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute.
Conflict of interest statement
The author declares no competing interests.
Figures
Similar articles
-
Paternal Incarceration, Race and Ethnicity, and Maternal Health.J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2023 Oct;10(5):2081-2092. doi: 10.1007/s40615-022-01388-2. Epub 2022 Aug 15. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2023. PMID: 35969324 Free PMC article.
-
Beyond Income Poverty: Measuring Disadvantage in Terms of Material Hardship and Health.Acad Pediatr. 2016 Apr;16(3 Suppl):S52-9. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2016.01.015. Acad Pediatr. 2016. PMID: 27044702 Free PMC article.
-
Early childhood economic disadvantage and the health of Hispanic children.Soc Sci Med. 2012 Oct;75(8):1523-30. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.05.031. Epub 2012 Jun 28. Soc Sci Med. 2012. PMID: 22818489 Free PMC article.
-
Adolescent Physical Activity Disparities by Parent Nativity Status: the Role of Social Support, Family Structure, and Economic Hardship.J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2020 Dec;7(6):1079-1089. doi: 10.1007/s40615-020-00731-9. Epub 2020 Feb 27. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2020. PMID: 32109306
-
Material Hardship Among Children, 2022.2023 Oct. National Survey of Children’s Health Data Briefs [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Health Resources and Services Administration; 2018–. 2023 Oct. National Survey of Children’s Health Data Briefs [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Health Resources and Services Administration; 2018–. PMID: 38648323 Free Books & Documents. Review.
Cited by
-
Does Adulthood Socioeconomic Status Predict Subsequent Telomere Length in Racially and Ethnically Diverse Women?J Biomed Life Sci. 2024;4(1):47-59. doi: 10.31586/jbls.2024.1023. Epub 2024 Sep 10. J Biomed Life Sci. 2024. PMID: 39377032 Free PMC article.
-
Associations Between Early Life Adversity and Youth Psychobiological Outcomes: Dimensional and Person-Centered Approaches.Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol. 2023 Dec;51(12):1789-1800. doi: 10.1007/s10802-023-01064-x. Epub 2023 May 17. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol. 2023. PMID: 37195493 Free PMC article.
-
Acculturative stress, telomere length, and postpartum depression in Latinx mothers.J Psychiatr Res. 2022 Mar;147:301-306. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.01.063. Epub 2022 Jan 31. J Psychiatr Res. 2022. PMID: 35123339 Free PMC article.
-
Paternal Incarceration, Race and Ethnicity, and Maternal Health.J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2023 Oct;10(5):2081-2092. doi: 10.1007/s40615-022-01388-2. Epub 2022 Aug 15. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2023. PMID: 35969324 Free PMC article.
-
Material hardship and telomere length in children.Child Dev. 2024 Nov-Dec;95(6):2232-2240. doi: 10.1111/cdev.14126. Epub 2024 Jun 29. Child Dev. 2024. PMID: 38943658 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Murphey, D, Madill R, and Lina Guzman. Making math count more for young Latino children. Washington, DC: Child Trends. 2017. https://www.hsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Early-Math-Report-2.8.pdf. Accessed 1 March 2021.
-
- Phelan JC, Link BG. Is racism a fundamental cause of inequalities in health? Annu Rev Sociol. 2015;41:311–330. doi: 10.1146/annurev-soc-073014-112305. - DOI
-
- Child Trends Databank. Children in poverty. 2019. https://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=children-in-poverty. Accessed 1 March 2021.
-
- Thomas, D, Richard F. Prior to COVID-19, child poverty rates had reached record lows in the U.S. Pew Research Center. 2020. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/30/prior-to-covid-19-child.... Accessed 1 March 2021.
-
- Krogstad JM, Lopez MH. Coronavirus Economic Downturn Has Hit Latinos Especially Hard. Pew research Center. 2020;4. https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2020/08/... Accessed 4 March 2021.
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Miscellaneous