The longitudinal relationship between cortisol responses to mental stress and leukocyte telomere attrition

Abstract

Context:Chronic psychological stress has been associated with shorter telomeres, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. One possibility is that the neuroendocrine responses to stress exposure are involved.Objective:To test the hypothesis that greater cortisol responsivity to acute stressors predicts more rapid telomere attrition.Design:We measured salivary cortisol responses to 2 challenging behavioral tasks. Leukocyte telomere length was measured at the time of mental stress testing and 3 years later.Participants:We studied 411 initially healthy men and women aged 54 to 76 years.Main outcome measure:Leukocyte telomere length.Results:Cortisol responses to this protocol were small; we divided participants into cortisol responders (n = 156) and nonresponders (n = 255) using a criterion (≥20% increase in cortisol concentration) previously shown to predict increases in cardiovascular disease risk. There was no significant association between cortisol responsivity and baseline telomere length, although cortisol responders tended to have somewhat shorter telomeres (β = −0.061; standard error, 0.049). But cortisol responders had shorter telomeres and more rapid telomere attrition than nonresponders on follow-up, after controlling statistically for age, sex, socioeconomic status, smoking, time of day of stress , and baseline telomere length (β = −0.10; standard error, 0.046; P = 0.029). The association was maintained after additional control for cardiovascular risk factors (β = −0.11; P = 0.031). The difference between cortisol responders and nonresponders was equivalent to approximately 2 years in aging.Conclusions:These findings suggest that cortisol responsivity may mediate, in part, the relationship between psychological stress and cellular aging.

Telomere reprogramming during fetal life in low socioeconomic mothers

“…Thus, it can be concluded that exhaustion-related work has a high tendency to accelerate biological aging. Stress related to heightened cortisol levels in females has shown differences in RTL, and this has also been found associated with increased risk of hypertension and accelerated aging [54]. Conflicting to the current study, research on working ladies indicated decrease in 472 bp telomeres compared to non-employed ladies [55].…”

Oxidative stress, telomeres and cellular senescence: What non-drug interventions might break the link?

“…Chronic psychological stress has been linked to higher levels of oxidative DNA damage and decrease in anti-oxidant defences [54], possibly triggered in part by higher levels of the stress-related hormone cortisol [95]. In support of this possibility, a longitudinal study in healthy late middle age people has recently suggested that heightened cortisol responsivity may mediate the relationship between psychological stress and telomere shortening [28].…”

“…Telomere length is influenced by biological [26][27][28][29], environmental [30], psychosocial [31][32][33][34][35] and life-style factors [36][37][38][39][40]. These include, gene variants of telomerase and telomere protective proteins, epigenetic signatures, sex, paternal age at birth, ethnicity, body size, biological stress responsivity, levels of inflammation, tobacco smoking, physical activity, diet and nutrition, as well as psychosocial stress, education and pollution levels.…”

Influence of music therapy on the telomere length: a brief review and a pilot study

“…In response to complex behavioural problems, an increase of 20% or more in cortisol was observed in less than half of the respondents. But it is in these people that the telomere length tends to reduce faster, accelerating the aging process in this way (Steptoe et al, 2017). When listening to Mozart's 40th symphony, blood pressure significantly decreased, which was not the case when listening to ABBA music; however, the level of cortisol in the blood decreased in both cases (Trappe, Voit, 2016).…”