A team led by Emiko Kranz at the NYU School of Global Public Health published a study in Brain, Behavior, & Immunity – Health using surveys and blood samples from 6,337 adults in the Health and Retirement Study. The participants were US adults ages 50 and older. Survey questions asked about routine unfair treatment in daily life, for example being shown less respect or receiving worse service because of aspects of identity or status.
Researchers measured markers of adaptive immunity, including the types and stages of T and B cells. The principal result was that people reporting higher everyday discrimination had higher counts of specific terminally differentiated immune cells. These included:
- CD4+ TEMRA cells
- CD8+ TEMRA cells
- IgD− memory B cells
Terminally differentiated or “exhausted” cells have reduced functionality and a lower capacity to mount strong responses to new infections. The study did not find a comparable increase in naïve T or B cells, which are younger and more able to respond to novel threats. The authors, including researchers from NYU and UCLA, note the findings suggest social disadvantage may leave physiological traces that accumulate over time. They caution this is an early step and say more research is needed. The study received support from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Source: NYU.
Difficult words
- everyday discrimination — unfair daily treatment because of identity or status
- terminally differentiated — older immune cells with reduced functionality and response
- marker — measurable sign used to show biological processesmarkers
- adaptive immunity — immune system that adapts to specific infections
- naïve — younger immune cells able to respond to new threats
- accumulate — to build up gradually over a period of time
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How might routine unfair treatment lead to long-term health effects for older adults?
- What further research would help confirm whether discrimination changes immune cells over time?
- What policies or community actions could reduce the health impact of everyday discrimination?
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