How childhood stress may speed up aging through changes in cell energy
Official title: Childhood Adversity and Biological Mechanisms of Accelerated Aging
Funded at Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital · NIH-11182588 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether traumatic or stressful experiences in childhood change mitochondria (the cell's energy centers) and lead to faster biological aging in people who had early-life adversity.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Riverside, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | September 4, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $141,268 |
| NIH project number | 5R21HD115343-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11182588 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with documented or suspected childhood maltreatment or severe early-life stress who can provide health histories and biological samples (or are already part of the longitudinal cohort) would be the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without a history of childhood adversity or whose health problems are unrelated to stress-driven aging processes are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
You and others who experienced childhood maltreatment would be represented in a long-term study that has health information and stored biological samples collected over years. Researchers will measure mitochondrial DNA and mitochondrial function along with established markers of biological aging, and link those lab results to health behaviors like sleep, diet, and activity. Animal experiments and lab work will be used to help explain how cellular changes could produce the patterns seen in people. The team will use these combined data to see whether early stress creates lasting biological signs that raise risk for heart disease and other age-related conditions.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal biological signs and targets that help prevent or treat early aging and reduce long-term disease risk in people who experienced childhood adversity.
How similar studies have gone: Animal studies and emerging human research support a link between stress, mitochondrial changes, and aging, but tracing these effects over time in human samples is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital
Riverside, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Parade, Stephanie Hart — Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital
- Study coordinator: Parade, Stephanie Hart
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.