Decades of research have shown a strong link between poverty and increased risk for developing age-related diseases. However, proving a cause-effect relationship between social class and how well someone ages is difficult because there are many other factors involved, including education and access to healthcare.
A recent study set out to address this very problem. Researchers looked at 100 random African American women from various social classes over the span of eight years. At the end of the eight years, they used the epigenetic clock to calculate the biological age of each woman. They found that those who had lower incomes appeared to age faster than those who earned more! In other words, women with less financial means appeared biologically older than their birth certificate would suggest. These findings persisted even after taking into account lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, as well as other factors such as childhood trauma, education, and marital status.
These results suggest that pre-mature aging in poverty stricken individuals is a direct consequence of chronic socio-economic stress. Lastly, this study demonstrates that DNA methylation and the epigenetic clock can be very useful in understanding how social class and economic status can affect one’s health.