In research believed to be the first to associate telomere length (a measure of cellular aging) to measures of life conditions, Arline Geronimus and colleagues found that telomere length varied for whites, blacks, and Mexicans in Detroit by their income, education, stress, and neighborhood satisfaction, but did not vary consistently by racial-ethnic group. Geronimus says: “The reasons some demographic groups have more health problems than others may stem from inequitable exposure to environmental challenges and difficult life conditions.”

More about Geronimus says stress of poverty robs urban poor of many years of healthy living >