This Article Abstract Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Miller, G. Articles by Chen, E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Miller, G. Articles by Chen, E. Related Collections Social Class Other Epidemiology Genetics

Unfavorable Socioeconomic Conditions in Early Life Presage Expression of Proinflammatory Phenotype in Adolescence

From the Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

View larger version (10K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 1. The impact of socioeconomic (SES) circumstances varies across childhood. Findings indicate that from the participants ages 1 to 10 years, there are statistically significant associations between housing status and future expression of glucocorticoid receptor mRNA. Participants whose families owned homes during these years express higher relative quantities of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) during adolescence than participants whose families were renting (upper panel). For toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), years 2 to 3 of life emerges as a critical period for SES. Participants whose families owned homes during these years express lower relative quantities of TLR4 mRNA during adolescence than participants whose families rented (lower panel). In both panels, the R2 value on the y axis reflects the amount of variance in transcript uniquely explained by SES for that age, after statistical adjustment for age at study entry, self-reported ethnicity, and current economic circumstances.

View larger version (11K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 2. The genomic influence of early-life socioeconomic status (SES) is not "undone" by later mobility in a person’s economic circumstances. Participants whose families owned their homes when they were aged 2 years showed higher relative quantities of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) during adolescence than participants whose families rented at that time. These disparities persist regardless of current family SES, as indexed by ownership of automobiles (top left) and perceived family standing (bottom left). An identical pattern is evident for expression of toll-like receptor 4 mRNA, suggesting the influence of early-life SES on this gene cannot be undone. This is true regardless of whether current family standing is measured as ownership of automobiles (top right) or perceived family standing (bottom right). RQ = relative quantity of mRNA.