Discrimination, social support, and telomere length: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)

We sought to assess the association of reports of discrimination with leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and effect measure modification by social support.

This study used data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis Stress Ancillary Study (n = 1153). Discrimination was measured using the everyday discrimination and the major experiences of discrimination scales. LTL was defined as the ratio of telomeric DNA to single-copy control gene (mean = 0.916, SD = 0.205). Linear regression models were used to examine the relationship between discrimination and LTL.

We found no association between either measure of discrimination and LTL, but there was evidence of effect modification by social support (P (χ²) = 0.001) for everyday discrimination only. Among those with low social support, reporting moderate and high everyday discrimination was associated with a 0.35 (95% CI: -0.54 to -0.16) and a 0.17 (95% CI: -0.34 to -0.01) shorter telomere length, respectively, compared to reporting no discrimination, after adjusting for demographic factors, health behaviors, and health conditions. There were no associations between discrimination and LTL among those reporting moderate or high social support.

These findings underscore the importance of continued investigation of the potential health consequences of chronic unfair treatment in the absence of supportive resources.