Cash aid and children's biological aging

Where it stands as of Sep 22, 2026

Researchers with the Baby's First Years project found that children of mothers given a larger unconditional monthly cash gift were aging more slowly, measured by DNA methylation using the DunedinPACE algorithm, than children in a comparison group receiving a smaller amount. The effect showed up only in the children, not in the mothers who received the same cash. It is the first evidence that relieving poverty, even partially, can slow the biological aging clock poverty is known to speed up, though why the effect sp