Employment Trajectories and Biological Aging: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Work Instability and Epigenetic Age Acceleration

• In Event: 30860 - Section on Aging and the Life Course Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 7. Employment, Retirement, and Aging

Abstract

Objectives
Employment disruptions are a significant life stressor that may accelerate biological aging. The weathering hypothesis suggests that cumulative socioeconomic stressors, including job instability, contribute to premature aging and earlier onset of age-related diseases, particularly among minoritized populations. However, the biological mechanisms underlying these disparities remain understudied. This study examines how employment trajectories shape racial/ethnic differences in DNA methylation-based age acceleration (DNAmAA).
Methods
Using data from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study, including the 2015/2017 Life History Mail Survey and the 2016 Venous Blood Study (N = 2,266), we identified five employment trajectories from ages 18 to 50 through sequence and cluster analysis. Employment data captured full-time, part-time, and disrupted work (e.g., caregiving, unemployment, disability). We applied multinomial regression to estimate racial/ethnic differences in employment trajectories and weighted least squares regression to assess associations with DNAmAA, measured using first- (Horvath, Hannum) and second-generation (DunedinPoAm38, PhenoAge, GrimAge) epigenetic clocks. Interaction effects between race/ethnicity and employment trajectories were also examined, adjusting for gender, age, years of schooling, and marital status Models adjusted for gender, age, education, and marital status.
Results
Non-Hispanic White older adults were more likely to have stable full-time employment, while non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic older adults experienced greater job instability. Black adults had 1.53 to 2.50 times higher odds of falling into trajectories marked by multiple job disruptions and late workforce entry, while Hispanic adults had 1.5 to 4.0 times higher odds of experiencing caregiving-related non-employment or job disruptions. Unexpectedly, individuals with part-time and multiple disruptions exhibited slower age acceleration in the Hannum, Levine, and GrimAge clocks. However, Black older adults overall showed significantly faster biological aging (≈0.3 years) in the Hannum, MPoAm, and GrimAge clocks. Notably, Black individuals in high-disruption employment trajectories exhibited greater age acceleration in the Levine clock compared to those with stable full-time employment.

Author

• Wenhua (Zoey) Lai, Wayne State University