A scoping systematic review of social stressors and various measures of telomere length across the life course

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Margaret Willis - , Columbia University (Author)
  • Shaina N. Reid - (Author)
  • Esteban Calvo - , Columbia University, Universidad Mayor (Author)
  • Ursula M. Staudinger - , Columbia University (Author)
  • Pam Factor-Litvak - , Columbia University (Author)

Abstract

Numerous studies examine the relationship between social stressors and telomere length (TL). Beyond considering methods and major findings, this scoping systematic review takes a novel approach as it groups studies according to the types of social stressor considered and by age groups. Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus. We included all English-language human subject research articles that modeled any measure of TL as a dependent variable and exposure to a social stressor as an independent variable. For the sample of 105 articles, we summarized methods and findings by type of social stressor (socioeconomic stressors, stressful life events, work-related stressors, and neighborhood stressors) and by age of the study population (infants/children, middle-aged adults, older adults, and mixed samples of middle-aged and older adults). We found more variation in TL measurement methodology in studies of infants/children and older adults than in studies focusing on middle-aged adults. The most consistent finding was a relationship between early-life stressors and shorter TL. Work and neighborhood stressors, and older populations, are currently understudied. Across all stressors, limited evidence suggests that the stress-TL relationship may be moderated by characteristics such as age, sex, and race/ethnicity. We conclude with specific suggestions for future research.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)89-104
Number of pages16
JournalAgeing Research Reviews
Volume47
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2018
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

External IDs

PubMed 30048807

Keywords

Keywords

  • Life course, Neighborhoods, Socioeconomic status, Stressful life events, Trauma, Work