Association of Parental Socioeconomic Status and Newborn Telomere Length

Low socioeconomic status is associated with higher all-cause mortality and risks for aging-related diseases. Biological aging is a potential process underlying health conditions related to social disadvantages, which may be present from birth onward. To evaluate the association of parental socioeconomic status with telomere length (TL) at birth, a marker of biological aging. This prospective birth cohort study was conducted among 1504 mother-newborn pairs in Belgium recruited between February 1, 2010, and July 1, 2017. Parental socioeconomic measures, including maternal educational level, occupation, paternal educational level, and neighborhood income based on median annual household income. Mean relative TL was measured in cord blood and placental tissue. By constructing a principal component, an integrative socioeconomic measure was derived that integrates parental socioeconomic status and neighborhood income. Multivariable adjusted regression analyses were performed to associate the integrative socioeconomic measure and TL at birth. In 1026 newborns (517 boys; mean [SD] gestational age, 39.2 [1.4] weeks), a higher socioeconomic status was associated with longer cord blood TL and placental TL. Each unit increment in the integrative socioeconomic status measure was associated with 2.1% (95% CI, 0.9%-3.4%; P