The bank account determines almost all aspects of life. According to the figure you show, more or less opportunities will open. It also occurs in aging, the worse the economic situation is before it gets older. That shows at least a recently published study.
Research, Published in EbiomedicinA magazine from the same publisher who publishes The Lancetconfirms that the children of poorer environments They are outdated faster that their contemporaries of families with a higher income.
The minors in low -income families are average about 10 years old biologically than their pairs with a higher family incomeAccording to the authors. To come to this conclusion, they evaluated material wealth, psychosocial stress and the length of telomeren.
Telomeren are the last part of chromosomes and their height is associated with aging because They are shortened with the increase in cellsJosé Viña explains, coordinator of the research group in aging and physical activity of Incliva, the research institute linked to the University Clinical Hospital of Valencia.
Children whose families have a higher economic level have telomeres Almost 5% longer Then the most disadvantaged couples. This shows the importance of the zip code, according to Manel Esteller, head of the epigenetic group of the Josep Carreras Institute.
“Your neighborhood not only determines how much you live, but also how you do it, with what quality of life”Details. It is not that those with a lower income have poorer genetics, but that this relationship between economy and aging is the product of the environment.
Viña agrees with him and remembers that this can already be felt: “There are neighborhoods in the city of Chicago in which Life expectancy is ten years younger That in other areas of the same city. “
Although this relationship has been seen, researchers have not discovered their cause. It is still an unknown How something external, such as the economic situation, can even influence the genetics of individuals, says the expert, who is also a genetic professor of University of Barcelona (UB).
The expert theoretizes that children with less income can live in more polluted areas and that it causes it “More cellular, molecular and hormonal changes”.
Stress and aging
The third factor that researchers have taken into account in this work is The stress to which children are subjected. They did it through the measurement of cortisol in the urine. Again, they seem to lose fewer favorite minors.
Children with an average and high material wealth a cortisol production between 20.8% and 22.8% lower That their counterparts with a lower income confirm the researchers in the article.
Viña, from Incliva, explains that Stress inhibits the production of telomeraseThe essential enzyme that extends the lifespan of the cells by maintaining the length of the telomeren. If it is not generated, the size will be reduced earlier, he explains.
“We have not evolved for social stress”Says Viña. According to the expert, people have evolved to have a different reaction today to the necessary, more physical dangers.
Nevertheless, both experts acknowledge that it is still not very clear that cortisol can reflect social stress, which would influence fewer favorite children. More evidence is needed To be able to confirm it.
Diseases appear earlier
The fact that poor minors are biologically larger than their peers with the best economic position can also imply that suffering diseases asked as a result of age, says Esteller. “His 60 years will be the equivalent of the 70 of another person who is stronger”.
If they suffer early aging, the same can happen to its consequences, says the UB professor. “As the same age, some will be much more broken than others”.
To be able to verify this, it would be ideal to be able to follow these children and evaluate their health status In thirty or forty years. One could therefore see whether the group that has less income has developed more ailments than his colleagues with the highest economic level.
On the other hand, Esteller remembers that too The shortening of telomeren does not always have to be associated with similar pathologies and problems. “There are 90 years old who enjoy very good health,” he emphasizes.
It is shown, they say that both he and Viña are that people with the lowest economic level go to the doctor and They usually maintain more harmful habits (such as smoking or drinking alcohol). If you take this into account, according to the economy, this greater aging is more a product of the environment than poor genetics.
To conduct the investigation, the authors have obtained data from 1160 children from 5 to 12 years old They participated in the Human Early Life Exposome (Helix) project, Van Cohorts of the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Norway, Lithuania and Greece.
This means that their conclusions apply to the European environment, but A more varied monster would be needed to see if the same thing happens with other populationsProposes Esteller. Moreover, the example, although correctly, is somewhat short. “Normally more topics are used.”
Despite the limitations of the study, the UB professor believes that the results reinforce what is needed that it is improve living conditions of those who have fewer resources.
For him, The solution is due to increasing income per head of the population. Spain currently has a life expectancy of 85 years, but if they increase the income of those who have a low economic level, “people who now cost them a lot” can reach that age. “
