Negative early-life exposures have been linked to a host of poor adult health outcomes, but are such early exposures associated with cellular senescence decades later? This study uses data from the Health and Retirement Study to examine the association between six childhood exposure domains (eg, socioeconomic disadvantage, risky parental behavior) and a biomarker of aging, telomere length, among 4,935 respondents. Telomere length is obtained from DNA of cells found in saliva and is measured as the telomere repeat copy number to single gene copy number ratio (T/S). Men who as children were exposed to risky parental behaviors or who reported risky adolescent behaviors have shorter telomeres (b = −0.031, p = .052; b = −0.041, p = .045, respectively); however, these relationships are attenuated after adjusting for adult risks and resources. Among women, parental substance abuse is associated with shorter telomeres even after adjusting for adult risks and resources (b = −0.041, p = .005). In addition, men and women whose mother lived at least until the age of 85 have longer telomeres than those without a long-lived mother (b = 0.021, p = .045; b = 0.032, p = .005, respectively). Taken together, the ways in which early-life exposures are associated with adult telomeres vary for men and women.

中文翻译：

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几十年后，是否可以在端粒长度中检测到童年暴露的生物学后果？

负面的早年暴露与一系列不良的成人健康结果有关，但这种早期暴露是否与几十年后的细胞衰老有关？本研究使用来自健康与退休研究的数据来检查 4,935 名受访者中六个童年暴露领域（例如，社会经济劣势、危险的父母行为）与衰老生物标志物、端粒长度之间的关联。端粒长度是从唾液中发现的细胞的 DNA 中获得的，并以端粒重复拷贝数与单基因拷贝数的比率 ( T / S )来衡量。童年时期接触过危险父母行为或报告有危险青少年行为的男性的端粒较短 ( b = -0.031, p = .052; b= -0.041, p = .045, 分别）；然而，在调整成人风险和资源后，这些关系会减弱。在女性中，即使在调整了成人风险和资源后，父母滥用药物与较短的端粒有关 ( b = -0.041, p = .005)。此外，母亲至少活到 85 岁的男性和女性比没有母亲长寿的男性和女性的端粒更长（分别为b = 0.021，p = .045；b = 0.032，p = .005）。总之，早年暴露与成年端粒相关的方式因男性和女性而异。