ArticlePsychosomatic medicine2013
Low social support is associated with shorter leukocyte telomere length in late life: multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.
Article in Psychosomatic medicine, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Social support and telomere length: a meta-analysis.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Variation in the oxytocin receptor gene moderates the protective effects of a family-based prevention program on telomere length.Brain and behavior · 2016Trial
- Social Interactions and Cell Aging Dynamics in Postpartum Women.Biological research for nursing · 2026Article
- Premature aging in serious mental illness.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Systems and Molecular Biology of Longevity and Preventive Medicine: Brain-Energy-Microbiome-Exposome Synergies in Blue Zones and the Cilento Case.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Social relationships and immune aging in early midlife: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Article
- Structural and social determinants of health: The multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.PloS one · 2024Article
- Birds of a feather age together: telomere dynamics and social behavior predict life span in female Japanese quailFrontiers in endocrinology · 2024Article
- Food Insecurity, telomere length and the potential modifying effects of social support in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.Public health nutrition · 2023Article
- Social relationships and epigenetic aging in older adulthood: Results from the Health and Retirement Study.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2023Article
- Social participation and risk of developing dementia.Nature aging · 2023Review
- Positive social factors prospectively predict younger epigenetic age: Findings from the Health and Retirement Study.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2023Article
- Psychological Stress and Epigenetic Aging in Older Men: The VA Normative Aging Study.Translational medicine of aging · 2023Article
- Loneliness, Depression, and Genetics in the Elderly: Prognostic Factors of a Worse Health Condition?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Gender Differences in Perceived Stress and Its Relationship to Telomere Length in Costa Rican Adults.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Maternal Psychological Resilience During Pregnancy and Newborn Telomere Length: A Prospective Study.The American journal of psychiatry · 2021Article
- At the forefront of psychoneuroimmunology in pregnancy: Implications for racial disparities in birth outcomes: PART 2: Biological mechanisms.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2020Review
- Is Raising Your Grandchild Bad for Your Health? The Association Between Custodial Grandparent Status and Health Biomarkers in Taiwanese Grandparents.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Telomeres and Telomere Length: A General Overview.Cancers · 2020Review
- Discrimination, social support, and telomere length: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).Annals of epidemiology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThe primary goal was to test the hypothesis that limited social support (SS) is related to shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL), particularly in an older adult population.
methodsCross-sectional analyses were performed on 948 participants aged 45 to 84 years at Examination 1 of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (18.4% white, 53.1% Hispanics, and 28.5% African American). LTL was determined by using quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and SS was measured with the Enhancing Recovery in Coronary Heart Disease SS inventory.
resultsAcross the entire sample, SS was not associated with LTL (p=.87) after adjusting for demographic (age, sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status), age×sex, age×race, health (body mass index, diabetes, pulse pressure), and life-style factors (smoking, physical activity, diet); however, the interaction term age (dichotomized)×SS was significant (p=.001). Stratification by age group revealed a positive association between SS (score range, 5-25) and LTL in the older (65-84 years; B[SE]=.005[.002]; p=.007) but not younger participants (45-64 years; p=.12) after adjusting for covariates.
conclusionsThese results from a racially/ethnically diverse community sample of men and women provide initial evidence that low SS is associated with shorter LTL in adults aged 65 years and older and is consistent with the hypothesis that social environment may contribute to rates of cellular aging, particularly in late life.
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