Physiological Aging and its Use as a Marker of Inequalities in Health: Cross-National Perspectives

Friday, November 15, 2024

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

Location: Room 606

CE: 1.5

Chair(s)

Mikaela Bloomberg, PhD (she/her/hers)

Senior Research Fellow
Behavioural Science and Health
University College London
London, England, United Kingdom

Individual Symposium Abstract First Author(s)

Eric Klopack, Ph.D. (he/him/his)

Postdoctoral Scholar
Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
University of Southern California
University of Southern California, California, United States
Mikaela Bloomberg, PhD (she/her/hers)

Senior Research Fellow
Behavioural Science and Health
University College London
London, England, United Kingdom
MF

Mateo Farina, PhD

Assistant Professor
Human Development and Family Sciences
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas, United States
JC

Jean Choi, MA

Doctoral student
Human Development and Family Sciences
The University of Texas Austin
Austin, Texas, United States

Given substantial heterogeneity in health status between older adults, there have been many efforts to develop metrics of biological and physiological ageing that explain variability in health outcomes better than chronological age alone. Physiological age based on clinical indicators may explain variation in health outcomes better than epigenetic or telomere-based biological clocks because clinical indicators capture downstream physiological changes more closely related to health outcomes. In this symposium, we examine physiological age as a holistic marker of ageing and how we can use different measures of physiological age to examine disparities in health across the UK, US, and Ireland. The first and second abstracts examine physiological ageing in different organ systems and associations with health outcomes in the US-based Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). The third abstract explores gender and educational inequalities in physiological ageing in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). The fourth examines racial differences in the returns to education for physiological ageing. Finally, the fifth abstract investigates associations of cumulative stress exposure and neighbourhood context with inflammation in HRS. We demonstrate physiological age as a powerful tool for revealing inequalities in health during ageing across national contexts.

Learning Objectives:

After attending this session, participants will be able to define different measures of physiological age and their relationships to ageing of organ systems and health outcomes
After attending this session, participants will be able to understand how sociodemographic and socioeconomic inequalities in health during ageing are reflected in different markers of physiological ageing across national contexts.

Presentations:

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

Biomarkers Help Us Understand How Cellular and Systemic Aging Contribute to Mortality
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Eric T. Klopack, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – University of Southern California
8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

Gender and Educational Differences in Trajectories of Physiological Ageing
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Mikaela Bloomberg, PhD (she/her/hers) – University College London
8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

Using Biological Aging to Better Understand the Differential Returns to Education Among Black and White Older Adults
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Mateo Farina, PhD – University of Texas at Austin
8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

Cumulative Stress Exposure, Neighborhood Environments, and Inflammation in Adulthood
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Jean Choi, MA – The University of Texas Austin