Mingxin Liu, Alan A Cohen, Véronique Legault, Sewanou Hermann Honfo, Kamaryn Tanner, Tamas Fulop, Mélanie Levasseur
{"title":"No Consistent Evidence that Ageism Is Linked to Biological Aging Status in the US Health and Retirement Study.","authors":"Mingxin Liu, Alan A Cohen, Véronique Legault, Sewanou Hermann Honfo, Kamaryn Tanner, Tamas Fulop, Mélanie Levasseur","doi":"10.1159/000543253","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Ageism, defined as stereotype, prejudice, and discrimination against people based on their age, has been shown to have unfavorable impacts on health. While discrimination has often been shown to negatively impact health, whether ageism might accelerate biological aging itself is unclear.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted secondary analyses of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, 2008, 2012, and 2016 waves). Ageism was estimated using self-perception of aging (SPA) and perceived age discrimination (PAD). Other types of discrimination (e.g., racism, sexism) were also considered. The Everyday Discrimination Scale was used to assess PAD and other types of discrimination. Biological aging was measured through homeostatic dysregulation (HD, n = 3,443, 2016 wave, six measures), epigenetic age (n = 1,484, 2016 wave, five measures), and telomere length (n = 1,981, 2008 wave). Biological aging measures were modeled as a function of ageism within and across waves.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Within waves, SPA score was associated with some elevated HD (e.g., β = 0.11, p < 0.001, quantified by 44 biomarkers) and epigenetic age indices (e.g., β = 0.61, p < 0.001, Hannum Epi Age). After controlling for comorbidities and social participation, these variables were no longer associated. Effects were similar but weaker in predicting 2016 biological aging from SPA in 2008 and 2012. PAD was not associated with biological aging measures, in contrast to other types of discrimination, which were.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We found no consistent evidence linking ageism to biological aging status. Further research should investigate why; potentially, ageism has less time to become biologically embedded, compared to racism and sexism, which might be experienced throughout one's life, but measurement challenges could also be present.</p>","PeriodicalId":12662,"journal":{"name":"Gerontology","volume":"71 3","pages":"185-202"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Gerontology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000543253","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/10 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: Ageism, defined as stereotype, prejudice, and discrimination against people based on their age, has been shown to have unfavorable impacts on health. While discrimination has often been shown to negatively impact health, whether ageism might accelerate biological aging itself is unclear.
Methods: We conducted secondary analyses of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, 2008, 2012, and 2016 waves). Ageism was estimated using self-perception of aging (SPA) and perceived age discrimination (PAD). Other types of discrimination (e.g., racism, sexism) were also considered. The Everyday Discrimination Scale was used to assess PAD and other types of discrimination. Biological aging was measured through homeostatic dysregulation (HD, n = 3,443, 2016 wave, six measures), epigenetic age (n = 1,484, 2016 wave, five measures), and telomere length (n = 1,981, 2008 wave). Biological aging measures were modeled as a function of ageism within and across waves.
Results: Within waves, SPA score was associated with some elevated HD (e.g., β = 0.11, p < 0.001, quantified by 44 biomarkers) and epigenetic age indices (e.g., β = 0.61, p < 0.001, Hannum Epi Age). After controlling for comorbidities and social participation, these variables were no longer associated. Effects were similar but weaker in predicting 2016 biological aging from SPA in 2008 and 2012. PAD was not associated with biological aging measures, in contrast to other types of discrimination, which were.
Conclusions: We found no consistent evidence linking ageism to biological aging status. Further research should investigate why; potentially, ageism has less time to become biologically embedded, compared to racism and sexism, which might be experienced throughout one's life, but measurement challenges could also be present.
期刊介绍:
In view of the ever-increasing fraction of elderly people, understanding the mechanisms of aging and age-related diseases has become a matter of urgent necessity. ''Gerontology'', the oldest journal in the field, responds to this need by drawing topical contributions from multiple disciplines to support the fundamental goals of extending active life and enhancing its quality. The range of papers is classified into four sections. In the Clinical Section, the aetiology, pathogenesis, prevention and treatment of agerelated diseases are discussed from a gerontological rather than a geriatric viewpoint. The Experimental Section contains up-to-date contributions from basic gerontological research. Papers dealing with behavioural development and related topics are placed in the Behavioural Science Section. Basic aspects of regeneration in different experimental biological systems as well as in the context of medical applications are dealt with in a special section that also contains information on technological advances for the elderly. Providing a primary source of high-quality papers covering all aspects of aging in humans and animals, ''Gerontology'' serves as an ideal information tool for all readers interested in the topic of aging from a broad perspective.