Does poverty show up on biological aging clocks?
In 48,348 NHANES adults, higher poverty tracked faster PhenoAge and KDM aging (B=1.38 and 0.96 extreme contrast), especially in midlife.
Source
Living in poverty and accelerated biological aging: evidence from population-representative sample of U.S. adults
Study at a glance
- Design
- Cross-sectional — NHANES IV weighted analyses of poverty vs PhenoAge/KDM biological age acceleration
- N
- N=48348 · U.S. adults 20–84 years across 10 survey waves
- Population
- Nationally representative U.S. adults (NHANES 1999–2018)
- Outcome
- PhenoAge and KDM biological age acceleration by poverty category
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Inspect source passages
Does poverty show up on biological aging clocks?
These passages occur verbatim in the stored paper text. They support the points listed below; they do not verify every statement in the explanation.
N=48,348 adults 20–84.
The analytic sample consisted of N = 48,348 individuals (20-84 years).
PAA B=1.38 and KDM B=0.96 for extreme poverty contrast.
higher poverty was associated with accelerated biological aging (PAA: unstandardized coefficient B = 1.38 p <.001, KDM: B = 0.96, p = .026 when comparing the highest and the lowest poverty level categories)
What they did
Estimated biological age from 11 biomarkers, indexed acceleration (PAA, KDM-A), and regressed on poverty ratio categories with survey weights.
What they found
Higher poverty associated with accelerated aging beyond covariates; age associations were U-shaped and poverty effects strongest in middle age.
The limits
What it doesn't show
Cross-sectional associations cannot prove poverty causes clock acceleration or quantify treatment effects of income interventions.
Key terms
- Biological age acceleration
- Biological age exceeding chronological age.
- PhenoAge acceleration (PAA)
- Phenotypic aging clock residual used as outcome.
- Klemera-Doubal method (KDM)
- Biomarker composite biological age approach.
- NHANES
- U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
- Income-to-poverty ratio
- Family income relative to Census poverty thresholds.
- Survey weights
- Make estimates representative of U.S. adults.
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Sample size:
Common questions
Sample n?
48,348 adults.
Biomarkers used?
11 biomarkers.
PAA extreme poverty contrast B?
1.38 (p<.001).
Where is poverty effect strongest?
Middle-aged groups.
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