# Biological Underpinnings of Socioeconomic Differentials in Health and Mortality

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2020 · $550,108

## Abstract

Abstract
 This project will use a unique new data resource from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to elucidate
multiple biological pathways through which life course social disadvantage “gets under the skin” and influences
subsequent morbidity and mortality. We will examine the association between social adversity and multiple
composite measures related to basic processes of biological aging including clinical indicators of physiological
status, immune system functioning, telomere attrition, mitochondrial depletion, DNA methylation, and gene
expression in order to understand the mechanisms through which those of low socioeconomic status (SES) “age”
at a faster rate than persons with higher SES. The uniqueness of this project resides in the breadth and depth
of the biological indicators which characterize some of the basic mechanisms of aging and have not been
examined in a nationally representative population with ability to characterize SES differences.
 We expect that low socioeconomic status (SES), and related stressful life events, adverse psychological
states, and poor health behaviors will be associated with worse physiological status, immunological functioning,
methylation profile, adverse expression, more mitochondrial depletion, and shorter telomere length at a given
chronological age. While low SES and accompanying life circumstances at any age are expected to be
associated with late life biology, cumulative social disadvantage beginning in childhood and sustained throughout
life is expected to have a multiplicative association in increasing adverse biological markers as we expect some
biological processes to be more influenced by childhood circumstances and others by more current
circumstances. We will examine the association of emotional, financial, and psychological costs of low SES in
early and later life with biological outcomes and hypothesize that the effect of these different aspects of life will
vary with timing and domain. We will also identify both genetic and social, psychological and environmental
buffering factors that will reduce the association of low SES with adverse biological profiles.
 The outcome of this project will be the identification of a comprehensive-integrated set of measures that
characterize the biological pathway from social adversity to poor health and “explain” at a biological level why
socially disadvantaged individuals are at greater risk of aging-related morbidity and mortality outcomes.
Identifying multiple social and biological mechanisms that influence the pace of aging will enhance our
understanding of the underlying causes of health disparities and the lifecycle processes by which they arise.
This work will increase substantially our understanding of how predisposing factors (cellular and molecular
changes, deterioration in the immune function, and physiological characteristics) and precipitating factors
(socioeconomic status, psychosocial and environmental stressors, and health behaviors) t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9981574
- **Project number:** 5R01AG060110-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** EILEEN M CRIMMINS
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $550,108
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9981574

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9981574, Biological Underpinnings of Socioeconomic Differentials in Health and Mortality (5R01AG060110-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9981574. Licensed CC0.

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