Why children from wealthy families are less stressed and live longer

A new study by researchers at the Imperial College London has revealed that children born to wealthy families do not have a “biological disadvantage” unlike kids born to low-income homes.

They found that low-income kids produce up to 23% more cortisol — which makes their cells age 10 years ahead — than their wealthier counterparts.

The study involved about 1,160 kids within the ages of 5 to twelve from the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Norway, Lithuania, and Greece.

It measured the connection between wealth, cortisol, and the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that determine biological age, telomeres.

And then used the international Family Affluence Scale (which is the standard for studies as these on child health and well-being) as its criteria for wealth assessment.

It also considered elements like car and electronics ownership, shared bedrooms and vacations abroad to measure socioeconomic status.

The researchers concluded that cortisol, measured through urine, is a marker of cellular stress, indicating psychosocial stress and telomeres, having been analysed through blood and DNA analysis.

They noted that telomeres become shortened not only with age but also by the body releasing hormones like cortisol to respond to stress, which causes “biological wear and tear” on cells.

They also believe that environmental and genetic factors affect the speed at which telomeres shorten.

The study, published in The Lancet on June 5, extracted that kids from higher income families had telomeres of up to 5% longer than their peers.

“For some children, their economic background may put them at a biological disadvantage compared to those who have a better start in life,” said Dr. Oliver Robinson, one of the study’s authors.

“We must be clear that our study should not be interpreted as showing any link between affluence and any measure of the ‘quality’ of genes; rather it shows the indirect impact of environment on a known marker for ageing and long-term health,” Dr. Robinson added.

Dr. Robinson also clarified that the children studied were not from “families in poverty” and stressed the key pointer: public health policies that allow all children the “best start in life”.

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