Does Stress Cause Premature DNA Aging?

Sharon Moore February 29, 2016

Telomeres - the ‘caps’ on the ends of chromosomes which protect the DNA from damage, have long been associated to longevity. It is said that the longer the telomeres, the longer one’s lifespan. A new study however, which is the largest of its kind, found a small correlation between stress and telomere length.

The analysis covered 22 earlier studies and over 8,700 participants. After statistically synthesising the data, the researchers found a surprisingly small correlation between stress and telomere length. The effect was similar for men and women.

Most of the studies looked at stress and how it affects telomere length. Several questions were asked to the participants, including "In the last month, how often have you felt that you were unable to control the important things in your life?" It’s possible that long-term stress could have more substantial effects. So far, there have been very few studies measuring stress repeatedly over years or decades, rather than months.

The analysis reports that stress in the short term might reflect a long-term battle, rather than a brief encounter with life’s daily tribulations. The researchers investigated whether the relationship between stress and telomere length depended on these characteristics. The relationship was barely stronger in studies with highly stressed subjects (r = -0.10), and the difference was not statistically significant.

The new study poses intriguing questions, particularly whether stress damages telomeres. And whether long-term stress might be more strongly related to shortened telomeres.

Source of this article:

Maya B. Mathur et al. Perceived stress and telomere length: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and methodologic considerations for advancing the field,