Neighborhood stressors associated with biological stress in New Orleans kids

Katherine Theall of the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine looked at the association of the three neighborhood-level stressors with biological outcomes reflected by telomere length and cortisol functioning. Telomeres are the region at the end of chromosomes that naturally shorten with age.  Shorter telomere lengths are associated with higher risks for cardiovascular disease, obesity, mental illness and poor health outcomes in adulthood. Cortisol is a hormone that regulates changes that occur in the body related to stress including blood pressure and immune responses. (author introduction)