Unfavorable Socioeconomic Conditions in Early Life Presage Expression of Proinflammatory Phenotype in Adolescence

Gregory E. Miller · Edith Chen

159 citations0/0 files storedPsychosomatic Medicine

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Health disparities and outcomes Stress Responses and Cortisol Employment and Welfare Studies

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Unfavorable socioeconomic status (SES) circumstances early in life are associated with heightened vulnerability to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. However, little is known about mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. METHODS: This study examined whether early-life SES predicts future activity of two genes involved in regulating inflammation. An ethnically diverse cohort of 136 adolescent females was enrolled in the study. SES was measured by home ownership. The messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) for glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) was quantified in peripheral blood leukocytes using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: Three findings emerged: a) Years 2 to 3 of life were a critical period: the participants whose families owned homes during these childhood years showed higher GR mRNA and lower TLR4 mRNA during adolescence, a profile that suggests better regulation of inflammatory responses. b) These effects were not mediated through current economic circumstances, life stress, or health practices. C) Changes in SES during later years were unable to "undo" these effects. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that unfavorable SES circumstances in the early years of life presage the expression of a proinflammatory phenotype in adolescence. To the extent that this proclivity toward inflammation persists over one's lifespan it could explain the heightened incidence of respiratory and cardiovascular disease in low SES populations.

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References

2002A life course approach to chronic disease epidemiology: conceptual models, empirical challenges and interdisciplinary perspectives 1991Generation of stress in the course of unipolar depression.2001Adolescents' Perceptions of Social Status: Development and Evaluation of a New Indicator 2004Inflammatory Exposure and Historical Changes in Human Life-Spans 2004Childhood Socioeconomic Circumstances and Cause-specific Mortality in Adulthood: Systematic Review and Interpretation 1999The Biological Embedding of Early Experience and Its Effects on Health in Adulthood 1998Adverse socioeconomic conditions in childhood and cause specific adult mortality: prospective observational study 2004Childhood Socioeconomic Status and Host Resistance to Infectious Illness in Adulthood

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