Associations of depression and anxiety and adolescent telomere length

Ford, J. P.; Pickler, Rita H.; Browning, Christopher R.; Tarrence, Jake; Anderson, Avery M.; Kertes, Darlene A.

doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106310

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 35 publications

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“…A previous study has shown that depressed individuals with anxiety have a higher risk of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts than those without anxiety [ 54 ]. Recently, Ford et al [ 55 ] reported that adolescents with current MDD had significantly shorter TL than adolescents who were never diagnosed with MDD, and TL was negatively associated with higher depressive symptom scores. Furthermore, they reported that TL in adolescents with an anxiety disorder was not significantly shorter than in adolescents who were never diagnosed with anxiety disorder; however, TL was negatively associated with higher anxiety symptom scores.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strong associations of telomere length and mitochondrial copy number with suicidality and abuse history in adolescent depressed individuals

Ochi,

Roy,

Prall

et al. 2023

Mol Psychiatry

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Major depressive disorder (MDD) is highly prevalent in adolescents and is a major risk factor for suicidality. Recent evidence shows that accelerated cellular senescence/aging is associated with psychiatric illness, including depression, in adults. The present study examined if the relationships of telomere length (TL) and mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn), two critical indicators of cellular senescence/aging, are altered in depressed adolescents and whether these alterations are associated with suicidality, early-life adversities, and other co-occuring factors. In genomic DNA isolated from 53 adolescents (ages 16–19, 19 MDD with suicide attempt/suicidal ideation [MDD + SI/SA], 14 MDD without SA/SI [MDD-SI/SA], and 20 healthy controls [HC]), TL and mtDNAcn were measured as the ratio between the number of telomere repeats and that of a single-copy nuclear-hemoglobin [HBG] gene or the amount of mtDNA (NADH dehydrogenase, subunit 1) relative to HBG. Our data show that TL was significantly lower, and mtDNAcn was significantly higher in the total MDD group than HC. TL was significantly lower and mtDNAcn was significantly higher in the MDD + SA/SI group than in the HC, whereas there were no differences in the MDD-SI/SA group. TL was positively correlated with mtDNAcn in both HC and MDD-SA/SI groups; however, TL was negatively correlated with mtDNAcn in MDD + SA/SI. Furthermore, TL was negatively correlated with the severity of both depression and anxiety, while mtDNAcn was positively correlated with the severity of prior emotional abuse. Our study indicates that cellular senescence is more advanced in depressed adolescents with suicidal ideation and that childhood emotional abuse may participate in such a process.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strong associations of telomere length and mitochondrial copy number with suicidality and abuse history in adolescent depressed individuals

Ochi,

Roy,

Prall

et al. 2023

Mol Psychiatry

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The Social Environment Matters for Telomere Length and Internalizing Problems During Adolescence

Kertes,

Clendinen,

Duan

et al. 2023

J. Youth Adolescence

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Depression and anxiety symptoms are on the rise among adolescents. With increasing evidence that cellular aging may be associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms, there is an urgent need to identify the social environment context that may moderate this link. This study addresses this research gap by investigating the moderating role of the social environment on the relation between telomere length and emotional health among adolescents. Participants were 411 non-Hispanic (88.56%) Black (100%) adolescents (M = 14.23 years, SD = 1.85, female = 54%) in a major metropolitan city. Youth and parents reported on an array of social risk and protective factors, and youth provided DNA samples for telomere length measurement. Results demonstrated that the association of telomere length and anxiety symptoms was stronger among youth with higher perceived stress or lower school belongingness, and the association of telomere length with depressive symptoms was stronger under conditions of higher parent inter-partner psychological aggression. The results enhance our understanding of the complex associations between biological aging, the social environment, and mental health in adolescence.

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Associations of depression and anxiety and adolescent telomere length

Cited by 2 publications

References 35 publications

Strong associations of telomere length and mitochondrial copy number with suicidality and abuse history in adolescent depressed individuals

Strong associations of telomere length and mitochondrial copy number with suicidality and abuse history in adolescent depressed individuals

The Social Environment Matters for Telomere Length and Internalizing Problems During Adolescence

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