Accelerated Telomere Shortening in Response to Life Stress

Accelerated Telomere Shortening in Response to Life Stress

Epel, Elissa S., Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Jue Lin, Firdaus S. Dhabhar, Nancy E. Adler, Jason D. Morrow, and Richard M. Cawthon
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 101, no. 49 (2004): 17312-17315
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0407162101

“People who are stressed over long periods tend to look haggard, and it is commonly thought that psychological stress leads to premature aging and the earlier onset of diseases of aging. 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 such stress exerts these effects are not well known, including whether stress accelerates aging at a cellular level and how cellular aging translates to organismal aging. Recent research points to the crucial roles of telomeres and telomerase in cellular aging and potentially in disease. ”

— Elissa Epel et al.