Exercise as a Therapy to Maintain Telomere Function and Prevent Cellular Senescence

Kim, Jeongjin J.; Ahn, Ahreum; Ying, Jianming; Hickman, E. Parris; Ludlow, Andrew T.

doi:10.1249/jes.0000000000000324

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 95 publications

(153 reference statements)

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“…All these factors can contribute, in turn, to a diminished physical capacity. On the other hand, physical activity maintains telomere length [70,71], probably by increasing telomerase reverse transcriptase expression and telomerase activity, thereby promoting telomere maintenance and preventing cellular senescence and aging phenotypes [72]. Also, physical activity is known to improve mental health and quality of life [73].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical performance and telomere length in older adults

Martínez-Ezquerro,

Ortiz-Ramírez,

García-delaTorre

et al. 2023

Preprint

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BackgroundThe fast-paced aging demographic prompts studying risk factors and markers that could predict healthy aging. Telomere length shows promise for assessing a broad spectrum of aging-related phenotypes.Aim of the studyTo assess the association between physical performance and telomere length in Mexican older adults.MethodsIn this observational cross-sectional study, we recruited 323 older adults affiliated with the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) and members of the “Cohort of Obesity, Sarcopenia, and Frailty of Older Mexican Adults’’ (COSFOMA). To assess physical performance, we used the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) and stratified individuals into two groups according to their SPPB score into low ≤7 (L-SPPB) and high >7 (H-SPPB). Absolute telomere length (aTL) was determined by using qPCR. Next, we classified individuals according to their aTL into short ≤4.22 kb (S-TL) and long >4.22 kb (L-TL). For both SPPB and aTL categories, we calculated the mean and adjusted mean by sex, age, marital status, education, remunerated work, smoking, drinking, cognitive decline, depression, and polypharmacy with 95% CI, including the lower and upper CI (LCImeanUCI). We estimated the effect size between physical performance and telomere length with Cohen’s d for unequal group sizes. Also, we calculated the odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals, including the lower and upper CI (LCIORUCI) for physical performance according to telomere length categories.ResultsParticipants in the low physical performance category had significantly shorter telomeres (4.14.44.7mean and3.54.04.5kb adjusted mean, p<0.001), in opposition to the high physical performance category (score >7) with longer telomeres (5.55.75.9mean and4.75.35.8kb adjusted mean, p<0.001), with a medium-to-high telomere length effect size (d= 0.762). Finally, the odds of being classified in the low physical activity category increased2.13.66.1times per kb of telomere (adjOR1.73.36.3, p<0.001) compared to the high physical activity group (p<0.001).ConclusionDecreased physical functioning is associated with lower telomere length. Absolute telomere length (aTL) as a possible biomarker for differential diagnosis of healthy and unhealthy aging should be explored further.

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