Unfavorable Socioeconomic Conditions in Early Life Presage Expression of Proinflammatory Phenotype in Adolescence
Abstract
Objective Unfavorable socioeconomic status (SES) circumstances early in life are associated with heightened vulnerability to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. However, little is known about mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. Methods This study examined whether early-life SES predicts future activity of two genes involved in regulating inflammation. An ethnically diverse cohort of 136 adolescent females was enrolled in the study. SES was measured by home ownership. The messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) for glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) was quantified in peripheral blood leukocytes using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results Three findings emerged: a) Years 2 to 3 of life were a critical period: the participants whose families owned homes during these childhood years showed higher GR mRNA and lower TLR4 mRNA during adolescence, a profile that suggests better regulation of inflammatory responses. b) These effects were not mediated through current economic circumstances, life stress, or health practices. C) Changes in SES during later years were unable to "undo" these effects. Conclusions These findings suggest that unfavorable SES circumstances in the early years of life presage the expression of a proinflammatory phenotype in adolescence. To the extent that this proclivity toward inflammation persists over one's lifespan it could explain the heightened incidence of respiratory and cardi…
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Low socioeconomic status in childhood is associated with a shifting of the leukocyte basal transcriptome toward a more proinflammatory phenotype in adolescence, independent of a person's socioeconomic status in adolescence.
“Low socioeconomic status in childhood has also been associated with a shifting of the leukocyte basal transcriptome toward a more proinflammatory phenotype in adolescence in a manner that is independent of a person's socioeconomic status in adolescence”
From From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: A social signal transduction theory of depression. (2014) · cites this paper as G. Miller & Chen, 2007
The transcriptional shift in low early-life socioeconomic status individuals is characterized in part by increased expression of genes coding for TLR4 and decreased expression of genes coding for the glucocorticoid receptor.
“The transcriptional shift observed in these low early-life socioeconomic status individuals is characterized in part by increased expression of genes that code for TLR4, which is involved in activating the innate immune system response, and by decreased expression of genes that code for the glucocorticoid receptor”
From From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: A social signal transduction theory of depression. (2014) · cites this paper as G. Miller & Chen, 2007
Cites
Sapolsky, R. M., Romero, L. M., & Munck, A. U. (2000) · Endocrine Reviews · doi:10.1210/edrv.21.1.0389 · Cited by 7,541 · see citing works
Liu, D., Diorio, J., Tannenbaum, B., Caldji, C., Francis, D., Freedman, A., Sharma, S., Pearson, D., Plotsky, P. M., & Meaney, M. J. (1997) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.277.5332.1659 · Cited by 3,170 · see citing works
Effect of Neonatal Handling on Age-Related Impairments Associated with the Hippocampus
Meaney, M. J., Aitken, D. H., van Berkel, C., Bhatnagar, S., & Sapolsky, R. M. (1988) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.3340858 · Cited by 1,074 · see citing works
The biological embedding of early experience and its effects on health in adulthood
HERTZMAN, C. (1999) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1999.tb08107.x · Cited by 631 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The social determinants of health: It’s time to consider the causes of the causes
Braveman, P., & Gottlieb, L. (2014) · Public Health Reports® · doi:10.1177/00333549141291s206 · Cited by 3,861 · see citing works
Slavich, G. M., & Irwin, M. R. (2014) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0035302 · Cited by 2,206 · see citing works
Miller, G. E., Chen, E., & Parker, K. J. (2011) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0024768 · Cited by 1,785 · see citing works
Self-citationMcEwen, B. S., & Gianaros, P. J. (2010) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05331.x · Cited by 1,715 · see citing works
Miller, G. E., Chen, E., Fok, A. K., Walker, H., Lim, A., Nicholls, E. F., Cole, S., & Kobor, M. S. (2009) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0902971106 · Cited by 822 · see citing works
Self-citationMiller, G., Chen, E., & Cole, S. W. (2009) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163551 · Cited by 591 · see citing works
Self-citationStimulation of systemic low-grade inflammation by psychosocial stress.
Rohleder, N. (2014) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0000000000000049 · Cited by 497 · see citing works
Stressful early life experiences and immune dysregulation across the lifespan
Fagundes, C. P., Glaser, R., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (2013) · Brain, Behavior, and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2012.06.014 · Cited by 371 · see citing works
Childhood adversity and inflammatory processes in youth: a prospective study
Slopen, N., Kubzansky, L. D., McLaughlin, K. A., & Koenen, K. C. (2013) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.05.013 · Cited by 330 · see citing works
The impact of social disparity on prefrontal function in childhood.
Sheridan, M. A., Sarsour, K., Jutte, D., D'Esposito, M., & Boyce, W. T. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035744 · Cited by 212 · see citing works
Antidepressant therapies inhibit inflammation and microglial M1-polarization
Kalkman, H. O., & Feuerbach, D. (2016) · Pharmacology & Therapeutics · doi:10.1016/j.pharmthera.2016.04.001 · Cited by 212 · see citing works
Inflammation and neuronal plasticity: a link between childhood trauma and depression pathogenesis
Cattaneo, A., Macchi, F., Plazzotta, G., Veronica, B., Bocchio-Chiavetto, L., Riva, M. A., & Pariante, C. M. (2015) · Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fncel.2015.00040 · Cited by 152 · see citing works
Slopen, N., Koenen, K. C., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2012) · Brain, Behavior, and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2011.11.003 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
Bick, J., Naumova, O., Hunter, S., Barbot, B., Lee, M., Luthar, S. S., Raefski, A., & Grigorenko, E. L. (2012) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579412000806 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Olvera Alvarez, H. A., Kubzansky, L. D., Campen, M. J., & Slavich, G. M. (2018) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.06.002 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
“Moreover, psychosocial stress and particle air pollution seem to influence the same inflammatory processes, such as inducing oxidative stress, as well as activating NF-κB and TLR4 (see Fig.”
InfluentialHostinar, C. E., Nusslock, R., & Miller, G. E. (2018) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1080/15374416.2016.1266647 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Self-citationMediation Analysis in Psychosomatic Medicine Research
Lockhart, G., MacKinnon, D. P., & Ohlrich, V. (2011) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0b013e318200a54b · Cited by 87 · see citing works
Childhood adversity and cell-mediated immunity in young adulthood: does type and timing matter?
Slopen, N., McLaughlin, K. A., Dunn, E. C., & Koenen, K. C. (2013) · Brain Behavior and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2012.10.018 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Early Trauma and Inflammation: Role of Familial Factors in a Study of Twins
Rooks, C., Veledar, E., Goldberg, J., Bremner, J. D., & Vaccarino, V. (2012) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0b013e318240a7d8 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
- Authors
- Miller, G., & Chen, E.
- Affiliations
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Miller, Gregory
- Venue
- Psychosomatic Medicine
- Published
- 2007-06
- Volume
- 69
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 402-409
- ISSN
- 0033-3174 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2127294266
- Cited by
- 159
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 14
- FWCI
- 11.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychosomatic Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Employment and Welfare Studies
- Keywords
- socioeconomic status, childhood adversity, pro-inflammatory phenotype, glucocorticoid receptor, TLR4, inflammation, adolescence, homeownership, leukocyte gene expression, cardiovascular risk, respiratory disease risk
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Cardiovascular Diseases, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Housing, Humans, Infant, Inflammation, Ownership, Phenotype, Receptors, Glucocorticoid, Respiratory Tract Diseases, Risk Factors, RNA, Messenger, Social Class, Cohort Studies, Adolescent Development, Toll-Like Receptor 4
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
