Several studies have also reported associations between adverse socio-environmental conditions and these different indices of aging (Raffington et al., 2021 Schmitz et al., 2021 Simons et al., 2021). These biological aging indices have been developed to predict morbidity and time-to-mortality risk, including a DNAm-based measure of the pace of aging (Belsky et al., 2020 Levine et al., 2018 Lu et al., 2019).
Recently, research has become increasingly aware of the associations between deoxyribonucleic acid methylation (DNAm) and aging. Knowing whether adverse neighborhood conditions increase aging among Black Americans is, therefore, crucial for understanding disparities in morbidity that oftentimes do not manifest until later decades in life. Moreover, Black Americans have historically had higher morbidity and mortality from chronic illness than majority groups (Geronimus et al., 2016 Williams, 2012). Indeed, relative to majority groups, Black Americans are more likely to reside in places affected by concentrated poverty, high rates of unemployment, and single-parent families (Peterson and Krivo, 2010). The body of evidence on neighborhood effects is particularly relevant for understanding the health burden of Black Americans. Prolonged exposure to neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage theoretically fosters an adverse physiological response that damages cells and induces oxidative stress (Lei et al., 2015), which increases risk for biological aging (Lei et al., 2019). Given that neighborhood quality is linked to dimensions of well-being (Aneshensel et al., 2016), stressors found in the residential neighborhood have been identified as potentially relevant for understanding human aging. Aging is a lifelong process that begins in childhood with implications for health (Kennedy et al., 2014) and life expectancy (Kuh et al., 2003).
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