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. 2022 Sep;93(5):1616-1624.
doi: 10.1111/cdev.13795. Epub 2022 May 21.

Childhood poverty, immune cell aging, and African Americans' insulin resistance: A prospective study

Allen W Barton  1 , Tianyi Yu  2 , Qiujie Gong  1 , Gregory E Miller  3 , Edith Chen  3 , Gene H Brody  2
Affiliations

Childhood poverty, immune cell aging, and African Americans' insulin resistance: A prospective study

Allen W Barton et al. Child Dev. 2022 Sep.

Abstract

The present study investigated developmental pathways that can contribute to chronic disease among rural African Americans. With a sample of 342 African American youth (59% female) from the southeastern United States followed for nearly two decades (2001-2019), we examined the prospective association between family poverty during adolescence (ages 11-18) and insulin resistance (IR) in young adulthood (ages 25-29) as well as underlying biological and psychosocial mechanisms. Results indicated family poverty during adolescence forecast higher levels of IR in young adulthood, with accelerated immune cell aging at age 20 partially mediating this association. Serial mediational models confirmed the hypothesized pathway linking family poverty, perceived life chances, cellular aging, and IR. Findings provide empirical support for theorized developmental precursors of chronic disease.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Immune cell aging as a mediator of the relation between years living in poverty and IR. Control variables not shown. Unstandardized coefficients with 95% confidence intervals (CI) are presented. N = 342
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Perceived life chances and immune cell aging as mediators of the relation between years living in poverty and IR. Control variables not shown. Unstandardized coefficients with 95% confidence intervals (CI) are presented. N = 342
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