Telomere length suggests poor people age faster: Study

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(CBS) Can being poor speed aging? How about eating poorly? A new Scottish study says yes to both questions, and the answer lies in a person's telomeres.

New blood test tells how long you have to live: Does it work?

Which begs the question - what are telomeres? They are the cap-like molecular structures on the tips of the chromosomes that scientists say are closely linked to biological age.

"We know that people who are born with shorter telomeres than normal also have a shorter lifespan," Dr. Maria Blasco of the Spanish National Cancer Research Center in Madrid, told The Independent in May. She created a $700 test that supposedly predicts aging by measuring telomeres.

For the 10-year study - set to publish in the upcoming issue of PLoS One - researchers from the University of Glasgow compared telomere length in 382 local residents. Those who had a household income less than $41,000, their telomeres shortened by 7.7 percent over the study, while those that made more money's telomeres shortened by only 0.6 percent.

That's not all. Glaswegians who rented reduced their telomere length by 8.7 percent, compared to homeowners who only saw a 2.2 percent length reduction. Diet also contributed to telomere length. Those with poor diets shortened their telomeres by 7.7 percent, compared to healthy eaters that only saw a 1.8 percent reduction overall.

Blasco, like some experts, thinks short telomeres are linked to worse health. She told The Daily Mail that the 10 percent of the population with the shortest telomeres" have a significantly higher risk of developing a number of diseases, such as heart disease, or cognitive defects such as Alzheimer's."

What can people do if their telomeres are too short?

"There are a number of studies showing certain habits are good for slowing down shortening -- taking exercise, having plenty of omega 3 fish oils," Blasco said. She also noted it's not too late - the blood produces an enzyme called telomerase which lengthens telomeres. Scientists expect that a drug that increases telomerase will one day be released.

But not all experts agree that telomeres predict longevity. Dr. Carol Greider, a geneticist at John Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore who studies telomeres told, MSNBC that there's so much variation that a 20-year-old might have telomeres the same length as a 70-year-old.

"I would say that it is not possible to tell a person's 'biological age' from their telomere length."

[kaylag04]

My grandmother was born on Christmas eve, 1900 in North Idaho. Her family was quite poor; her father worked as a steamboat operator, a rancher, and a mining inspector simultaneously. He died in 1917, leaving the family with a ranch and no money. They sold out and went to Washington state. She and her siblings lived through WWI, the Depression, WWII and every variety of celebration and calamity along the way. She died one month shy of her 101st birthday, in 2001. Maybe telomere length is just an indicator of willingness to believe that wealth and health are what you believe them to be. She always believed she was richest on that little ranch with that large, poor family in North Idaho.

[RobAla]

I am a middle income worker now, but I was poor as a young adult. Many of the "poor" people I knew, not only had poor financial habits (like wasting money on cigarettes), but they had poor health habits (like wasting money on cigarettes). What did this study take into account? Did it compare people of different economic means that had similar habits and behavior? The devil is often in the details.

[oneolderguy57]

These people and their dumb study's.Must be nice to get paid to say stupid stuff like this.And then there is the so called Experts,Experts say drinking to much water can kill you ,duh no kidding,what makes me the maddest is these experts are never brave enough to tell their name as they know they will get the biggest bunch of Negative Feedback for being stupid.

[oneolderguy57]

What a crock of pooh this is, It doesn't matter if your poor or rich when your time comes you go.Hell we never had a lot of money nor did my grandparents and they all lived well into their 80's and my parents did to.I'm better off then my parents were but i still figure i got a shot to make to at least 80.

[Transatlantique]

Duh! How else would the Royal family, barring rare accidents, lives so bloody long? The number one killer of the poor are subservient, low paying, and stressful jobs under corporate slave ownership. They view people as machines and are run by people who don't care about anyone but themselves. This is the real culprit. I hope there is a judgement someday and that those who treated others with a lack of compassion will be the slaves of those they oppressed.

[MagnaCartaUK]

This is common knowledge and no mystery, that's why we have 'society'. Of course the poor age suffer more ill-health and age quicker. I'm affluent, but provide for my fellow Britons who may be disadvantaged, it's only natural to do so. Access to all for education, health-care, employment - and if not, then the protection of benefits is just and right. It's simply humane, and all are a part of a long-term doctrine for the mental and physical advancement of a nation's populace. Provide recreational amenities, cradle-to-grave healthcare and health awareness. Fight poverty, squalor, social isolation and crime, and the individual, neighbourhood and nation are empowered for improvement. The result is far better long-term health - if those it affected embrace it. Why waste time studying the obvious?

[Transatlantique]

Your attitude is why I wish I had been born in England, among other things like men's hoodies (down there), afternoon tea, channel four, and the Queen's English.

[ludvig1-2009]

Out here in California, poor people most likely are the ones who are also smokers.

[retiredgustav]

How much money was spent on this study? They could have gone down ti the old Gypsy lady down the road and got the same results.

[rightbehind]

LOL! Then they run to voting booths to protect the buying power of the wealthy. They are being "freed" of life. It's not a sin to be poor but it is a sin to be ignorant.