Grandparent Caregiving and Epigenetic Aging Among Midlife and Older Adults in the United States.

Aarti C Bhat, Kaitlin M Trexberg, Abner T Apsley, David M Almeida, Idan Shalev

Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. · pubmed

Paper

Abstract

Grandparents have increasingly taken more active caregiving roles for grandchildren. Given their vulnerability to aging-associated health declines, it is essential to understand how grandparent caregiving, along with grandparent gender and family relationships, may influence aging processes. This study examined how grandparent caregiving status interacts with gender and family affectual solidarity to affect epigenetic aging, an indicator of healthspan and mortality risk.

The following analysis is generated by AI and may contain errors. It is separate from the authors’ abstract and is not peer review.

Research summary

The paper claims that grandparent caregiving status, along with gender and family relationships, influences epigenetic aging. This study explores a social factor related to aging, but it does not address the root causes of aging or propose mechanisms for lifespan extension.

Author of this paper? Send a correction.