A new study from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa found that Native Hawaiians have higher rates of biological aging than white and Japanese populations in the state.
Researchers say that underlying health conditions and socioeconomic status are associated with accelerated aging among Native Hawaiians.
Alika Maunakea, the lead author of the study, said that Native Hawaiians experience chronic health conditions such as diabetes, and studies show that social factors and poverty may be involved.
However, he noted that it doesn't explain why such disparities occur at a younger age for Native Hawaiians.
"Our research is seeking to understand biological origins of health disparities in Native Hawaiians, and we examined whether biological aging might be a contributing factor," he said.
Researchers used data collected from blood samples and measured against white and Japanese people. Up to 376 people from a multi-ethnic cohort study at the UH Cancer Center participated.
"Say you give an 80-year life span of longevity. That 10% difference in the rate of aging is about an eight-year difference in longevity," Maunakea said.
He said that Native Hawaiians have a 25% higher rate of biological aging than white people.
However, researchers also found that Native Hawaiians who were more physically active had normal biological aging – even if they lived in poverty.
Maunakea, who grew up in Waianae and was born and raised on a Hawaiian homestead, said the study hits close to home.
"People who I've experienced in my family died of cancer. We see higher rates of those conditions in our population, and almost to a point where people feel in that community that if you're Hawaiian, you're going to get this because it's so pervasive," he said.
"But actually, the data that we've provided here and the data that we're seeing today actually shows that disease is not our destiny," he continued.
Maunakea said this recent study might help better explain health disparities among Native Hawaiians and individual life experiences. The study also calls for more culturally tailored health programs to address such challenges.
