# A Model of Accelerated Aging:  Social, Political, Economic, Environmental, and Biological Factors' Effects on Osteoporosis, High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein, and Telomere Length

> **NIH NIH R15** · UNIVERSITY OF LA VERNE · 2020 · $389,611

## Abstract

Abstract
Osteoporosis, due to aging, is a significant public health concern across the world because of the association
with fractures. Fractures are expected to be increasingly costly for the government and individuals in the
United States due to the large aging population of Baby Boomers. Accelerated aging may further compound
these effects, yet our understanding of the causes of accelerated aging is incomplete. Prolonged stress from
social, economic, biological, environmental, and political factors appears to cause an increase in inflammatory
biomarkers, such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP). Many such stressors have also been linked to
osteoporosis and shortened telomere length (STL), but definitive answers about whether these outcomes are a
consequence of increased inflammation are missing because most studies have focused only on a subset of
potential stressors and have not explored the wide range of variables that could potentially affect these
indicators. In this study we develop a holistic model of the relationship among biological, social, economic,
political, and environmental stressors, inflammation (measured via CRP), and osteoporosis and STL (as
indicators of accelerated aging), which is a novel contribution to the field. We consider the possibility of
heterogeneous treatment effects of inflammation on outcomes. We further create a disease risk score tool for
use in public health or clinical settings to assess the risk of accelerated aging for osteoporosis and STL, that
can incorporate CRP values from CRP point-of-care testing and is based on exposure to relevant stressors. To
accomplish these aims we analyze data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), in combination with
contextual data from the following sources: 1) the HRS Contextual Data Resource (HRS-CDR), 2) The
Dynamics of State Policy Liberalism, 1936-2014 (political data), 3) Environmental Protection Agency (air
quality), and 4) Environmental Working Group (EWG) (water-quality data). We expect our findings to shift how
researchers and clinicians think about stressors by considering a variety of sources and evaluating how those
stressors affect inflammation and osteoporosis and STL. Furthermore, our disease risk score tool has the
potential to change the way clinicians practice preventive medicine and reduce health disparities as a result.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9880678
- **Project number:** 1R15AG063330-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF LA VERNE
- **Principal Investigator:** Christine Ann Broussard
- **Activity code:** R15 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $389,611
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-02-15 → 2024-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9880678

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9880678, A Model of Accelerated Aging:  Social, Political, Economic, Environmental, and Biological Factors' Effects on Osteoporosis, High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein, and Telomere Length (1R15AG063330-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9880678. Licensed CC0.

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