Telomere Shortening May Be Related to Major Life Stressors

Written by Angeline A. De Leon, Staff Writer. A study of 263 postmenopausal women suggests that major stress over a period of one year may accelerate shortening of telomere length while healthy behaviors within that same time frame may mitigate the shortening effect.

Stressful events across the lifespan culminate in a gradual wearing down of the human body’s physiological system, eventually leading to accelerated aging and increased susceptibility to disease. Chronic stress is associated with impaired immune function, studies showing that adults who experience high levels of stress also demonstrate poorer wound healing, vulnerability to latent viruses, and higher levels of inflammation ¹. Telomeres represent the regions at the end of each DNA strand which protect chromosomes from degradation. Genetic research suggests that telomere shortening is the main cause of age-related break-down of cells ². As it is involved in all stages of cellular aging, telomere length may be thought of as representative of biological, as opposed to chronological age. For example, the immune system, which weakens with age, is highly sensitive to the shortening of telomeres ³. Critically, long-term psychological stress, whether experienced in childhood or adulthood, can be potent enough to cause telomere shortening, as in the case of caregivers and victims of domestic violence as well as individuals suffering from depression ^4-6. However, it is still unknown whether the cumulative effect of chronic stress may produce telomere shortening in a relatively brief period of time. To this end, researchers at the University of California (2015) ⁷ studied telomere length in a group of healthy women, examining whether major stressors taking place over the course of one year might lead to telomere shortening and observing whether healthy behavior could potentially mitigate such an effect.

A total of 263 healthy, non-smoking, middle-aged, post-menopausal women (aged 50-65 years) participated in the prospective cross-sectional study where they completed self-report measures of cumulative health behaviors (physical activity as measured by the Stanford Brief Activity Scale [SBAS], sleep quality as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI], and diet as measured by the Food Frequency Questionnaire [FFQ]), at baseline, 4 months, 8 months, and at one-year follow-up. From blood samples provided by participants, leukocyte telomere length (LTL) was measured, and at one-year follow-up, a 15-item checklist was administered to monitor major adverse life stressors (e.g., major financial difficulties, unemployment, serious illness, death of family member) from the previous year.

At one-year follow-up, top stressors were reported as family death (32%), relationship difficulties (26%), caregiving (20%), and unemployment/financial strain (17%). Statistical analyses revealed that major stressors over the past year were a significant predictor of telomere shortening over the same time period (B = -0.18, p = 0.01). More specifically, for every major life stressor that was experienced, a significantly greater decrease was reported in the telomere length of 35 base pairs over the year (SE = 14.04, 95% CI = -62.3, -6.9, p < 0.05). A moderating role of healthy behaviors was also detected such that healthy behaviors during the one-year period was found to moderate the relationship between major life stressors and telomere shortening during the same time period (interaction B = 0.19, p = 0.041).

Thus, findings from the study provide evidence for the malleability of telomere length over a relatively short time frame, identifying major life stressors as key predictors of telomere shortening. Results also underscore the importance of engagement in healthy behaviors as a protective mechanism against stress and its role in accelerating aging. 

Source: Puterman E, Lin J, Krauss J, et al. Determinants of telomere attrition over one year in healthy older women: Stress and health behaviors matter. Mol Psychiatry. 2015; 20(4): 529-535. DOI: 10.1038/mp.2014.70.

© 2015 Macmillan Publishers Limited All rights reserved 1359-4184/15

Posted February 20, 2018.

Angeline A. De Leon, MA, graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2010, completing a bachelor’s degree in psychology, with a concentration in neuroscience. She received her master’s degree from The Ohio State University in 2013, where she studied clinical neuroscience within an integrative health program. Her specialized area of research involves the complementary use of neuroimaging and neuropsychology-based methodologies to examine how lifestyle factors, such as physical activity and meditation, can influence brain plasticity and enhance overall connectivity.

References:

1. Glaser R, Kiecolt-Glaser JK. Stress-induced immune dysfunction: implications for health. Nature Reviews Immunology. 2005;5(3):243.
2. Campisi J, di Fagagna FdA. Cellular senescence: when bad things happen to good cells. Nature reviews Molecular cell biology. 2007;8(9):729.
3. Campisi J, Andersen JK, Kapahi P, Melov S. Cellular senescence: a link between cancer and age-related degenerative disease? Paper presented at: Seminars in cancer biology2011.
4. Puterman E, Lin J, Blackburn E, O’Donovan A, Adler N, Epel E. The power of exercise: buffering the effect of chronic stress on telomere length. PloS one. 2010;5(5):e10837.
5. Humphreys J, Epel ES, Cooper BA, Lin J, Blackburn EH, Lee KA. Telomere shortening in formerly abused and never abused women. Biological research for nursing. 2012;14(2):115-123.
6. Hoen PW, de Jonge P, Na BY, et al. Depression and leukocyte telomere length in patients with coronary heart disease: data from the Heart and Soul Study. Psychosomatic medicine. 2011;73(7):541.
7. Puterman E, Lin J, Krauss J, Blackburn EH, Epel ES. Determinants of telomere attrition over 1 year in healthy older women: stress and health behaviors matter. Molecular psychiatry. 2015;20(4):529.