Links vary by adversity type; threat-related early-life adversity tied to accelerated pubertal development
MONDAY, Aug. 3, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Early-life adversity (ELA) is associated with accelerated biological aging, although the associations vary as a function of adversity type, according to a review published online Aug. 3 in the Physiological Bulletin.
Natalie L. Colich, Ph.D., from the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues examined the association between ELA involving threat and accelerated biological aging across multiple metrics. A total of 54 studies with 116,010 individuals examining associations of ELA with pubertal timing and cellular aging were included in a meta-analysis, and 25 studies with 3,253 individuals assessing ELA and neural markers of accelerated development were included in a systematic review to assess whether associations between ELA and biological aging vary according to the nature of adversity.
The researchers found that ELA was associated with accelerated pubertal timing and cellular aging, but these associations varied with type of adversity. ELA characterized by threat was associated with accelerated pubertal developmental and accelerated cellular aging, while there was no association noted for deprivation and socioeconomic status (SES) with accelerated development. Associations were identified between ELA and accelerated cortical thinning; threat-related ELA was consistently linked to thinning in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex; thinning in the frontoparietal, default, and visual networks was seen in association with deprivation and SES.
“These findings suggest specific associations of dimensions of ELA with multiple domains of biological aging and highlight the importance of delineating the mechanisms through which specific types of early environmental experiences influence different aspects of biological aging in childhood and adolescence and determining how these pathways ultimately contribute to health disparities,” the authors write.
Estrogen Hormone Treatment May Be Beneficial for Brain Fog Symptoms in Menopausal Women 
Brain Abnormalities Identified in Children at Risk for Schizophrenia 
Cortical Atrophy in Early-Onset Alzheimer Disease Signature Can Predict Progression to Dementia 
Socioeconomic Inequalities Tied to Functional Aging 
Multicomponent Interventions Offer Little Impact on Fall Risk 
Nearly 3 in 4 Older Adults Express Interest in Vaccine to Prevent Dementia .jpg)
Mortality Lowest at Hemoglobin Concentrations Above WHO Thresholds 
U.S. Adults May Not Understand Their Risk for Vascular Disease 
