Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Accelerated Ageing in Children

Aspiring researcher Georgi Radulov summarises some recent research from colleagues at the Mohn Centre.

Aspiring researcher Georgi Radulov joined the Mohn Centre for work experience in July after successfully completing the Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones (SCAMP) Research Challenge. This is a programme that engages sixth form students in the UK’s largest study on the effects of technology on young people’s physical and mental health. Read Georgi’s summary of a recent study led by Dr Oliver Robinson, affiliated with the Mohn Centre, exploring the relationship between childhood affluence and biological ageing.

Childhood is a crucial time for brain and body development, laying the foundation for physical and mental health later in life. However, new research suggests that socioeconomic status may influence this development in more complex and far-reaching ways than previously understood. A study conducted as part of the Human Early Life Exposome has found that children from less affluent backgrounds are more likely to experience chronic stress, which has been associated with accelerated biological ageing.

Building on this, the study aimed to understand how different environmental factors in early life impact health at a biological level. It included 1,160 children aged 6 to 11 years, from six European countries and 39 schools, making it one of the most comprehensive investigations into how socioeconomic differences can affect the body at a cellular level.

To measure family wealth, researchers used the Family Affluence Scale, which includes indicators such as how many vehicles a family owns, whether a child has their own bedroom, family holidays, and access to a computer. These categories act as markers of how many resources a child’s family has compared to others. Children were then grouped into high, medium, or low affluence categories.

Researchers focused on two key biological markers, the telomere length and cortisol levels. Telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences that protect chromosomes from damage during cell division and naturally shorten as people age. Cortisol is a hormone released by the body in response to stress. Previous studies have shown that long-term exposure to elevated cortisol levels is linked to accelerated ageing.

The findings from the Associations of Family Affluence with Cortisol Production and Telomere Length in European Children study revealed clear biological differences between children from different backgrounds. On average, children in the high affluence group had telomeres that were 5% longer than those in the low affluence group. According to the researchers, this difference may be equivalent to approximately 10 years of biological ageing. Furthermore, children from higher affluence backgrounds had 15.2% to 22.8% lower cortisol levels than their less affluent peers, suggesting reduced exposure to chronic stress.

Interestingly, the study also found that girls had longer telomeres than boys by around 5.6%, and children with higher body mass index (BMI) had shorter telomeres, with telomere length decreasing slightly for each percentage increase in fat mass.

As someone aspiring to study statistics and computer science, I found it particularly interesting how this study leveraged measurable biological indicators alongside socioeconomic data to explore inequality. It demonstrates how data can uncover complex insights that we might never have expected to be part of the picture.

Although the study did not include children living in extreme poverty, the results still highlighted a significant health gap tied to income and material resources. However, these findings do not imply any differences in the inherent “quality” of children’s genes. Instead, they reflect the indirect impact of life conditions, such as crowded housing, neighbourhood crime, and unstable employment. These conditions are more common in less affluent families and can contribute to chronic stress.

These findings add to a growing body of research showing that social disadvantage becomes embedded in the body long before adulthood. By revealing how a child's environment such as housing quality, finance security, and daily stress can shape biological ageing, the study underscores the importance of early-life interventions. Experts argue that improving access to housing, healthcare, education, and family support is essential to reducing the long-term health inequalities linked to socioeconomic status.

This message resonated with me. I found it eye-opening to see how data on biological markers like telomere length and cortisol levels can reveal the hidden toll of inequality. It is easy to think of health as a matter of individual choices, but this research shows that broader life conditions such as crowded housing or job instability can leave a lasting biological imprint on children. It was unsettling to realise how factors completely outside a child’s control might affect their health for years to come. The study challenged me to reflect on how often we underestimate the power of our environment and deepened my belief that addressing inequality must begin in early life. Data like this does not just inform policy but tells stories that we cannot afford to ignore.

Associations of family affluence with cortisol production and telomere length in European children Marston, Kendal et al. eBioMedicine, Volume 117, 105793 
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/EBIOM/article/PIIS2352-3964(25)00237-3/fulltext

Read the Guardian's take on the article here: https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2025/jun/05/poorer-children-more-likely-age-faster-affluent-counterparts-study