Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 101, Issue 49, Pages 17312-17315Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0407162101
Keywords
psychological stress; telomere length; telomerase; oxidative stress
Categories
Funding
- NCI NIH HHS [CA77839, P01 CA077839] Funding Source: Medline
- NCRR NIH HHS [M01-RR01271, M01 RR001271, RR00095, M01 RR000095] Funding Source: Medline
- NIAID NIH HHS [AI48995, R01 AI048995] Funding Source: Medline
- NIDDK NIH HHS [DK48851] Funding Source: Medline
- NIGMS NIH HHS [P01 GM015431, R37 GM026259, R01 GM026259, P50 GM015431, GM26259, GM15431] Funding Source: Medline
- NIMH NIH HHS [K08 MH064110, K08 MH64110-01A1] Funding Source: Medline
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Numerous studies demonstrate links between chronic stress and indices of poor health, including risk factors for cardiovascular disease and poorer immune function. Nevertheless, the exact mechanisms of how stress gets under the skin remain elusive. We investigated the hypothesis that stress impacts health by modulating the rate of cellular aging. Here we provide evidence that psychological stress-both perceived stress and chronicity of stress-is significantly associated with higher oxidative stress, lower telomerase activity, and shorter telomere length, which are known determinants of cell senescence and longevity, in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy premenopausal women. Women with the highest levels of perceived stress have telomeres shorter on average by the equivalent of at least one decade of additional aging compared to low stress women. These findings have implications for understanding how, at the cellular level, stress may promote earlier onset of age-related diseases.
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