Photo = Getty Images Korea. A new study has shown that different types of discrimination in everyday life or at work can accelerate biological ageing.
Researchers at the New York University (NYU) Graduate School of Global Public Health discovered the root cause of the difference in mortality from age-related diseases by linking discrimination against people to changes at the molecular level.
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Professor Adolfo Cuevas, professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at NYU’s School of Global Public Health and senior author of a paper published in the medical journal Brain Behavior & Immunity-Health, said, “Experience discrimination can accelerate the aging process. “It appears that this may cause disease and premature death and promote health disparities,” NYU said in a press release issued on the 9th (local time).
Studies have shown that people who experience discrimination based on their identity, such as race, gender, weight, or disability, are at increased risk for a variety of health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and depression. The exact biological factors that cause these health problems are not yet fully understood, but it is likely that the chronic activation of the body’s stress response is the cause. In addition, a growing body of research shows that continued exposure to discrimination is linked to the biological process of aging.
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To better understand the link between differentiation and ageing, Professor Cuevas and his colleagues looked at three measures of DNA methylation, a marker that can be used to assess the biological effects of stress and the aging process. Blood samples and surveys were collected from approximately 2,000 US adults as part of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, funded by the National Institute on Aging.
Participants were asked about their experiences with three types of discrimination: everyday, mainstream, and workplace. Casual discrimination refers to subtle and trivial incivility that occurs in everyday life, while major discrimination focuses on serious and intense cases of discrimination (for example, being physically threatened by a police officer). Discrimination in the workplace included unfair practices, deprivation of professional opportunities, and bias based on status.
Photo = Getty Images Korea.
The researchers found that discrimination is associated with faster biological aging, and that people who experience more biological discrimination age faster than those who experience less discrimination. While daily and significant discrimination was consistently associated with biological aging, exposure to workplace discrimination was also associated with accelerated aging, although the effects were less severe.
A deeper analysis found that two health factors – smoking and body mass index – explained about half of the link between discrimination and ageing, suggesting that other stress responses to discrimination, such as increased cortisol and lack of sleep, may be responsible for faster ageing. do.
Photo = Getty Images Korea.
“Although health behaviors partly explain this gap, it is likely that there are multiple processes at work linking psychosocial stress and biological ageing,” explained Professor Cuevas.
In addition, the association between discrimination and accelerated biological aging varied by race. Black study participants experienced more discrimination, were older, and tended to age faster.
“These findings highlight the importance of tackling all forms of discrimination to support healthy aging and promote health equity,” added Professor Cuevas.
Park Hae-sik, Donga.com reporter pistols@donga.com
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