Socioeconomic status and immune aging in older US adults in the health and retirement study

Eric T. Klopack, Bharat Thyagarajan, Jessica D. Faul, Helen C.S. Meier, Ramya Ramasubramanian, Jung Ki Kim, Eileen M. Crimmins

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Socioeconomic and demographic factors including educational attainment, race and ethnicity, and childhood socioeconomic status (SES) are powerful predictors of inequalities in aging, morbidity, and mortality. Immune aging, including accumulation of late-differentiated, senescent-like lymphocytes and lower levels of naïve lymphocytes, may play a role in the development of the age-related health inequalities. This study used nationally representative data from more than 9,000 US adults from the Health and Retirement Study to investigate associations between educational attainment, race and ethnicity, and childhood SES and lymphocyte percentages. Respondents with lower educational attainment, Hispanic adults, and those who had a parent with less than a high school education had lymphocyte percentages consistent with more immune aging compared to those with greater educational attainment, non-Hispanic White adults, and respondents who had parents with a high school education, respectively. Associations between education, Hispanic ethnicity, and parents’ education and late differentiated senescent-like T lymphocytes (TemRA) and B cells were largely driven by cytomegalovirus (CMV), suggesting it is a factor in observed SES inequalities in immunosenescence. Naïve T lymphocytes may be particularly affected by socioeconomic position and may therefore be of particular interest to research interested in inequalities in health and aging.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)187-202
Number of pages16
JournalBiodemography and Social Biology
Volume67
Issue number3-4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Support was provided by grants from the National Institute on Aging (T32AG000037-43, P30AG017265, and R01AG060110). The Health and Retirement Study is supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA U01AG009740) and the Social Security Administration with grants to the University of Michigan.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

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