Examining the Association Between Biological Age, Stress, and Resilience Among Diverse Breast Cancer Survivors Using the NIH All of Us Dataset
Authors: Bathsheba Aklilu, Erica Tate
Faculty Supervisor: Cathy Samayoa
Department: Biology
Breast cancer disparities exist by race and ethnicity. This includes disparities in age at diagnosis, quality of life, and health outcomes. These disparities may be due to chronic stress, which can result in premature aging. Telomere shortening, a hallmark of biological aging, is a promising biomarker that has been associated with adversity, chronic stress, and health outcomes. However, most studies lack racial and ethnic minorities and thus biological age among diverse breast cancer survivors remains unknown. This study aims to investigate the factors associated with telomere length attrition among diverse breast cancer survivors using the NIH All of Us research dataset. Using RStudio within the NIH All of Us dataset, we will examine whole genomic data to quantify telomere length via a long-read Telomere-to-Telomere analysis. We will also examine the relationships between telomere length and stress and resilience. We hypothesize that telomere length will be shorter among racial and ethnic minorities, and also in women who report higher levels of stress. We expect telomere length to be positively associated with resilience. This study will provide a greater understanding of the biological mechanisms driving breast cancer health inequities.