Effects of Physical Exercise on Cognition and Telomere Length in Healthy Older Women

Abstract

Background: Physical exercise is an effective measure for preventing the onset of cognitive decline and has a direct influence on the aging process. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of a 6-month physical exercise program on cognition and telomere length in adults over 65 years of age. Method: Seventy-four healthy women were separated into two groups: 41 were included in the intervention group (IG) (72.70 ± 4.127 years and 8.18 ± 1.551 years of education) and 33 in the control group (CG) (71.21 ± 4.127 years and 8.42 ± 2.562). The participants included within the IG carried out three sessions of physical exercise per week for six months. Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Stroop test and the Trail Making Test (TMT). Saliva samples were taken and analyzed and relative telomere length was calculated. Those conducting the analysis were blind to the group to which the participants had been assigned. Results: An improvement was observed in global cognitive function, in both attentional and executive functions, in the group of adults doing physical exercise as compared to the control group. Six months after the physical exercise program had finished, relative telomere length was found to have increased in the participants in the intervention group. Conclusion: Physical exercise programs can lead to an improvement in both cognitive functions and telomere length.

Analysis of Telomere Length and Its Implication in Neurocognitive Functions in Elderly Women

“…Similarly, another factor to take into account in this possible relationship is the regular practice of physical exercise by the study populations. In previous studies, we have confirmed that physical exercise has a positive impact on both telomere length and cognition [ 20 , 21 ]. However, as we have previously mentioned, there is much controversy regarding the possible relationship between TL and cognitive function.…”

“…The following protocol was followed for the extraction of DNA from saliva [ 27 , 28 ] and the same laboratory steps were followed as in previous studies [ 21 ]. The cells were isolated by centrifugation and resuspended in Fornace buffer (0.25 M sucrose, 50 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.5, 25 mM KCl, and 5 mM MgCl2), followed by additional centrifugation at 1500 rpm for 10 min.…”

The Correlation of Different Intensities Exercise on Telomere Length

“…There was no interaction between long-term resistance training and telomere length, but a negative impact was found between heavy-resistance training and telomere length when telomeres in skeletal muscle were measured 7,14 . In highly active individuals, exercise can cause muscle damage, satellite cell proliferation (precursor cells), and telomere length shortening in skeletal muscle tissue 6,9,39 .…”

“…Many studies have been conducted to establish the connection between exercise and telomere length, but still have varying results 5,[13][14][15] . Telomeres are reiterative DNA sequences (5'-TTAGGGn-3') that function to protect genomic DNA from enzymatic degradation 2,5,[16][17][18] .…”

Effects of Intermittent Hypoxia in Training Regimes and in Obstructive Sleep Apnea on Aging Biomarkers and Age-Related Diseases: A Systematic Review

“…High altitude hypoxia (5,000 m) causes both tissue damage due to oxidative stress and telomere elongation due to HIF-1α-TERT axis activation ( Wang et al, 2018 ). Physical exercise, which is always accompanied by moderate intermittent hypoxia, increases TL in older persons ( Sánchez-González et al, 2021 ; Sellami et al, 2021 ); it can be speculated that when intermittent hypoxia is applied in a training regime, oxidative stress is minimal; an increase in telomerase expression would lead to telomeres elongation, thereby increasing rejuvenation.…”