Discrimination-linked negative affect and biological age in two US adult samples
In two US national longitudinal samples, stronger within-person links between discrimination and negative affect were associated with faster biological aging on some epigenetic clocks; this is an association, not proof of cause. [1]
Automatic summary · not editorially reviewed
The key findings
The study analyzed 397 adults with eight daily diaries and 2,059 adults with five biennial surveys. [1]
Stronger positive slopes between discrimination and negative affect were associated with faster biological aging on some clocks. [1]
The authors say findings support the weathering hypothesis linking cumulative negative emotions to accelerated biological aging. [1]
The source at a glance
- Study type / format
- Analysis of two national longitudinal studies (abstract)
- Population / context
- Adults in two US national longitudinal samples (397 and 2,059 participants).
- Summary based on
- Study abstract
- Original publication
- June 15, 2026
Two US cohorts and their diary and survey data
The study analyzed two national longitudinal samples. In the Midlife in the United States study, 397 adults completed eight daily diaries. In the Health and Retirement Study, 2,059 adults completed five biennial surveys. The researchers modeled within-person associations, meaning slopes, between discrimination and negative affect, and related these to biological aging measured by the DunedinPACE and GrimAge2 clocks.
Supporting source [1]
Faster aging linked to stronger reactivity in some clocks
Across both studies, adults who experienced more discrimination on average reported more negative affect. Stronger positive slopes between discrimination and negative affect were associated with faster biological aging at the time of assessment only on DunedinPACE in the Midlife in the United States study, and on both DunedinPACE and GrimAge2 in the Health and Retirement Study. These associations persisted after adjusting for the frequency of discrimination.
Supporting source [1]
Weathering hypothesis support and abstract-only scope
The authors say the findings support the weathering hypothesis, the idea that cumulative negative emotions linked to discrimination relate to accelerated biological aging. They note that modeling stress reactivity rather than exposure alone matters. The results are associations, not evidence that discrimination causes biological aging. Only the abstract was reviewed; the full text was not reviewed, so design details and limitations beyond the abstract are unknown.
Supporting source [1]
How to interpret this
Abstract only; the full text was not reviewed. Results are associations, not causal evidence, and the abstract does not report follow-up duration or detailed adjustment sets.
Based on the study abstract; the full paper, tables and supplementary data were not reviewed.
Source & supporting passages
Del Toro J, Martz C, Civitillo S, Marcoulides KM. · europepmc.org · June 15, 2026