Self-regulation as a Health-Protective Factor in Adverse Socioeconomic Conditions

描述（由申请人提供）：社会经济劣势是许多终身健康问题的重要风险因素，包括呼吸和心血管疾病、精神疾病、糖尿病和癌症。尽管降低这些疾病的患病率对公共卫生具有重要意义，但关于可能抵消低社会经济地位（SES）带来的风险的因素，文献中存在重大差距。目前的项目考察了自我调节技能（有意控制自己的思想、情绪和行为的能力）在多大程度上与低社会经济地位相互作用，以预测（研究1）或与（研究2）预测未来健康结果的生物标记相关联。这种可能性得到了儿童发展研究的支持，这些研究表明，高度自我调节能力对生活在贫困中的儿童的社会功能具有保护作用，并报告了自我控制措施与成人健康结果之间的相关性。这些问题将使用来自两个已完成项目的数据进行检查（PI: Miller）。研究1对147名青春期女孩（15-19岁）进行了为期2.5年的前瞻性随访，在基线时评估SES和自我调节技能，并在随访期间每6个月评估一次免疫和代谢危险因素。研究2横断面评估了420名成年人（15-55岁）的当前社会地位、童年父母职业、自我调节、免疫和代谢生物标志物。两项研究通过综合评估多个水平的炎症（包括RNA表达、对细菌刺激的体外细胞因子反应、循环c反应蛋白和白细胞介素-6等全身性炎症标志物）和代谢风险指标（葡萄糖、胰岛素、甘油三酯、胆固醇分数和糖化血红蛋白水平）来衡量健康风险。目的1是测试青少年自我调节技能是否在低社会经济地位与随后的免疫和代谢生物标志物轨迹之间具有中等相关性（研究1）。目的2在研究2中检验低社会地位、自我调节的线性关系，以及它们与炎症和代谢功能障碍的统计相互作用。第三个目标是检查研究2中自我调节与健康习惯之间的相关性（例如，酒精和烟草使用、药物、运动、睡眠卫生），并探索在控制健康习惯后，目标2的结果是否成立。这些目标与赞助机构的使命直接相关，因为它们提供了关于一种可能保护健康的因素的知识，有助于减轻人口的发病率和过早死亡负担。重要的是，这种保护因素已被证明在儿童干预中是可塑的。该项目是西北大学Gregory E. Miller博士指导下的一个培训计划的一部分，该计划将为申请人提供心理免疫学方面的示范研究、教学和动手实验室培训。这项培训将使申请人能够追求她的长期研究目标，即调查生命早期压力与整个生命周期健康之间的联系。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Socioeconomic disadvantage is a significant risk factor for numerous lifespan health problems, including respiratory and cardiovascular disease, psychiatric illness, diabetes, and cancer. Despite the public health significance of reducing the prevalence of these conditions, there is a major gap in the literature regarding factors that may offset the risks posed by low socioeconomic status (SES). The present projects examine the extent to which self-regulation skills (the ability to intentionally control one's thoughts, emotios, and behavior) statistically interact with low SES to predict (Study 1) or associate with (Study 2) biological markers predictive of later health outcomes. This possibility is supported by child development studies showing protective effects of high self-regulatory abilities for the social functioning of children living in poverty, and reported correlations between measures of self-control and adult health outcomes. These issues will be examined using data from two completed projects (PI: Miller). Study 1 prospectively followed 147 adolescent girls (ages 15-19) for 2.5 years, assessing SES and self-regulation skills at baseline, as well as immune and metabolic risk factors every 6 months for the follow-up duration. Study 2 cross-sectionally assessed current SES, childhood parental occupation, self-regulation, immune and metabolic biomarkers in a sample of 420 adults (ages 15-55). Health risk was measured by both studies through comprehensive assessments of inflammation at multiple levels (including RNA expression, ex vivo cytokine responses to bacterial stimuli, and markers of systemic inflammation such as circulating levels of C-reactive protein and Interleukin-6) and indices of metabolic risk (levels of glucose, insulin, triglycerides, cholesterol fractions, and glycosylated hemoglobin). Aim 1 is to test if adolescent self-regulation skills moderate associations between low SES and subsequent immune and metabolic biomarker trajectories from 6-30 months post-baseline (Study 1). Aim 2 examines linear associations of low SES, self-regulation, and their statistical interaction with inflammation and metabolic dysfunction in Study 2. The third aim examines correlations between self-regulation and health practices in Study 2 (e.g., alcohol and tobacco use, medications, exercise, sleep hygiene) and explores whether results in Aim 2 hold true after controlling for health practices. These aims are directly relevant for the mission of th sponsoring agency, as they provide knowledge about a potentially health-protective factor that could help reduce the burden of morbidity and premature mortality on the population. Importantly, this protective factor has been shown to be malleable in childhood interventions. This project is part of a training plan that will provide the applicant with exemplary research, didactic, and hands-on laboratory training in psychoimmunology under the mentorship of Dr. Gregory E. Miller at Northwestern University. This training will allow the applicant to pursue her long-term research goals of investigating the links between early life stress and health across the lifespan.