Racism may speed up cell aging in people who it is imposed on.
A research team found African-American men who reportedly were exposed to high levels of racial discrimination or internalized "anti-Black attitudes" aged faster on a cellular level, a University of Maryland news release reported.
It has been long-known that African-Americans tend to have shorter life spans than Caucasians, and are more likely to suffer "aging-related illnesses" at a younger age.
The researchers believe they may have found a link between these statistics and racial discrimination.
"We examined a biomarker of systemic aging, known as leukocyte telomere length," Doctor David H. Chae, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Maryland School of Public Health and the study's lead investigator, said in the news release. "We found that the African American men who experienced greater racial discrimination and who displayed a stronger bias against their own racial group had the shortest telomeres of those studied."
Shorter telomeres are linked with aging-related woes. They cap the ends of chromosomes involved in "repetitive DNA sequences." These telomeres get shorter as the years pass (about 50 to 100 base pairs smaller annually), but have known to shrink faster if the individual is exposed to repeated psychological distress.
"Telomere length may be a better indicator of biological age, which can give us insight into variations in the cumulative 'wear and tear' of the organism net of chronological age," Chae said
The researchers found that in male African-Americans with the strongest anti-Black attitudes those who reported high levels of racial discrimination had a telomere length of about 140 base pairs shorter than individuals who reported low levels.
The study participants consisted of 92 percent African-American males between 30 and 50 years of age. The subjects were asked about their experience with discrimination in areas like "work and housing, as well as in getting service at stores or restaurants, from the police, and in other public settings," the news release reported. The participants were also asked to take the Black-White Implicit Association Test, which measures perception of different races.
The team concluded that shorter telomere length was most prevalent in those who reported high rates of racial discrimination and were found to have a strong anti-Black bias.
"African American men who have more positive views of their racial group may be buffered from the negative impact of racial discrimination," Chae said. "In contrast, those who have internalized an anti-Black bias may be less able to cope with racist experiences, which may result in greater stress and shorter telomeres."
The study subject reported the most instances of racism in police officers.
"Despite the limitations of our study, we contribute to a growing body of research showing that social toxins disproportionately impacting African American men are harmful to health," Chae said. "Our findings suggest that racism literally makes people old."
