Faster and Healthier: Relationship between Telomere and Performance in Master Athletes

Abstract

Aging is associated with increased oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and decreased telomere length (TL). However, the lifestyle of master athletes can lead to a reduced risk of these conditions, and thus attenuates aging and performance deterioration. We aimed to analyze the relationships between TL and relative performance (RP), and their relation to adiposity, oxidative stress, and inflammation in endurance (END) and sprint/power (SPW) master athletes (MAs). Twenty-two world-class MAs visited the laboratory for anamnesis, anthropometrics, and blood sampling. Inflammatory and oxidative stress parameters were assessed using commercial kits. Relative TL was determined in leukocytes through qPCR analyses. A positive association was observed between RP and TL in both groups (SPW: r=0.641; END: r=0.685) and the whole sample (r=0.594). The IL6/IL10 ratio presented an inverse correlation with RP in the whole sample (r=–0.580). Body mass index also demonstrated a negative correlation with TL for the END group (r=–0.690) and the whole sample analysis (r=–0.455). Moreover, the IL6/IL10 ratio was negatively associated with strength/power training hours (r=–0.464), whereas the CAT/TBARS ratio was negatively associated with aerobic training hours (r=–0.482). In conclusion, TL of MAs was associated with RP regardless of the training model (endurance or sprint/power), and inflammation and adiposity were associated with shorter telomeres.

Master athletes have longer telomeres than age-matched non-athletes. A systematic review, meta-analysis and discussion of possible mechanisms

“…In this study, endurance athletes had higher levels of sTNF-RI, IL-6 and IL-15 than sprint athletes, while sprint athletes had higher levels of IL-10, IL-10/ TNF-α ratio and IL-10/IL-6 ratio than endurance athletes. These observations corroborate with the study of Sousa et al (2020). This last reported a negative correlation between markers of chronic inflammation and telomere length, and a positive association between telomere length and the performance level of master athletes.…”

Effect of physical activity and exercise on telomere length: Systematic review with meta‐analysis

“…Other potential mechanism of PA is the breakdown of aging-related skeletal muscle loss by stimulating the production of satellite cells. 27,28 There are however contradictory findings, [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] and the literature on the contributions of PA on decelerating telomere shortening is inconclusive.…”

The Impact of Exercise on Telomere Length, DNA Methylation and Metabolic Footprints

“…Analysis of blood samples obtained at the 31-year follow-up visit revealed a longer LTL in individuals who also displayed high-level aerobic fitness (measured by a 4-min step test), good trunk muscle endurance (Biering-Sorensen test) or handgrip strength [ 44 ]. LTL may also play a role for the performance in high-profile sports [ 45 ]. Blood analysis of 22 male master track and field athletes showed a surprisingly significant correlation between an athlete’s LTL and his personal relative performance level.…”