Biological disadvantages may be shaped in first decade of a child’s life depending on family affluence
Children from poorer backgrounds are more likely to experience biological disadvantages such as ageing faster than their more affluent counterparts, according to a study.
Academics at Imperial College London looked at data from 1,160 children aged between six and 11 from across Europe, for the study published in the Lancet. The children were scored using an international scale of family affluence, which is based on a number of factors including whether a child had their own room and the number of vehicles per household.
Children were split into groups of high, medium and low affluence groups, and blood samples were used to measure children’s average telomere length in white blood cells, while the stress hormone cortisol was measured from urine.
Telomeres are structures found within chromosomes that play an important role in cellular ageing and DNA integrity, and their degradation is linked to ageing. Telomeres become shorter as humans age.
