Psychosocial Stressors and Telomere Length: A Current Review of the Science

Rentscher, Kelly E.; Carroll, Judith; Mitchell, Colter

doi:10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040119-094239

Cited by 104 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 126 publications

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“…Leukocyte telomere length has been linked to immune cell dysfunction, various chronic diseases ( 60 ), and psychosocial stress [as summarized in ( 61 )]; telomere length has been suggested as a new tool for immunoepigenetics ( 62 ). A recent study from our lab using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey demonstrated that living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods associated with shorter leukocyte telomere length among U.S. adults, indicating the potential impact of adverse neighborhood conditions on immune cells ( 63 ).…”

Section: Markers Of Social Position and The Immune Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Disparities in COVID-19: Addressing the Role of Social Determinants of Health in Immune System Dysfunction to Turn the Tide

Baumer

Farmer

Premeaux

et al. 2020

Front. Public Health

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It is evident that health disparities exist during the COVID-19 pandemic, a pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Underlying reasons for COVID-19 health disparities are multi-factorial. However, social determinants, including those regarding socioeconomic status, social inequalities, health behaviors, and stress, may have implications on these disparities. Exposure to one or more of these social determinants is associated with heightened inflammatory responses, particularly increases in the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), as well as immune system dysfunction. Thus, an amplified effect during COVID-19 could occur, potentially resulting in vulnerable patients experiencing an intensified cytokine storm due to a hyperactive and dysfunctional immune response. Further understanding how social determinants play a mechanistic role in COVID-19 disparities could potentially help reduce health disparities overall and in future pandemics.

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Section: Markers Of Social Position and The Immune Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Disparities in COVID-19: Addressing the Role of Social Determinants of Health in Immune System Dysfunction to Turn the Tide

Baumer

Farmer

Premeaux

et al. 2020

Front. Public Health

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“…Although research has linked psychosocial stress to several markers of biological aging in humans, causal models that examine the specific mechanisms are lacking. For instance, a sizeable literature suggests that chronic stress exposure over the lifespan is associated with shortened telomere length; yet, only a few studies have prospectively tracked telomere length changes [17]. Several studies have also linked stressors such as caregiving, work-related stress, perceived stress, bereavement, and decreased feelings of closeness with parents during childhood to elevated oxidative stress and DNA damage and repair processes [6,18,19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship closeness buffers the effects of perceived stress on transcriptomic indicators of cellular stress and biological aging marker p16INK4a

Rentscher

Carroll

Cole

et al. 2020

Aging

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Chronic stress can accelerate biological aging, offering one mechanism through which stress may increase agerelated disease risk. Chronic activation of the sympathoadrenal system increases cellular energy production, resulting in cell stress that can initiate cellular senescence, a permanent state of cell growth arrest. Our previous research linked psychosocial stress with increased expression of senescence marker p16 INK4a ; however, less is known about the role of protective psychosocial factors in biological aging. We examined relationship closeness (perceived interconnectedness with one's spouse) as a protective buffer of the effects of stress on expression of the p16 INK4a-encoding gene (CDKN2A) and transcription control pathways activated under cell stress. Seventy parents (Mage=43.2) completed interview-based and questionnaire measures of psychosocial stress and relationship closeness. Blood samples assessed CDKN2A expression and inferred activity of a prioriselected transcription factors Nrf2 and heat shock factors (HSFs) via genome-wide transcriptome profiling. Random intercept models adjusting for age, sex, and ethnicity/race revealed that perceived stress was associated with elevated CDKN2A expression for parents with low but not high closeness. Secondary bioinformatics analyses linked the interaction of perceived stress and relationship closeness to Nrf2 and HSF-1 activity. Findings identify relationship closeness as a protective factor that may buffer the impact of stress on cellular stress and senescence pathways. www.aging-us.com 2 AGING DNA damage, telomere shortening, cellular senescence, epigenetic modifications, and altered intercellular communication [1]. Age-associated biological changes may serve as mechanisms that contribute to the development of aging phenotypes and diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, and cancer [2]. A growing literature suggests that chronic psychosocial stress can impact these biological aging pathways [3-5], offering one mechanism through which stress may increase age-related disease risk.

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“…Kaufman et al observed that ten methylation sites interact with ACEs to predict cross-sectional measures of BMI and an additional six sites were found to exert a main effect in predicting BMI in youth [25]. In addition to influencing biological pathways, early life stressors may affect child behavioral patterns, such as eating, sedentary behavior, and sleep, which could potentially result in increased childhood obesity [4,5,[7][8][9][10][11][12]31].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

“…These poor dietary and sleep practices are associated with obesity [6]. Similarly, ACE affects telomere length [7,8], which is associated with obesity [9,10]. In addition, food insecurity is associated with obesity in adults [11] and a recent study showed that a high cumulative adverse childhood experiences is associated with food insecurity [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between cumulative exposure to adverse childhood experiences and childhood obesity

2020

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Background Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is associated with many childhood diseases and poor health outcomes in adulthood. However, the association with childhood obesity is inconsistent. We investigated the association between reported cumulative ACE score and body mass index (BMI) in a large sample of patients at a single institution. Methods This cross-sectional study included children aged 2-20 years that were screened in a general pediatrics clinic for ACEs utilizing the Center for Youth Wellness ACEs questionnaire between July 2017 and July 2018. Overall ACE score was categorized as 'no exposure' (score = 0), 'low exposure' (score = 1), and 'high exposure' (score� 2). BMI was categorized as overweight/obese (BMI percentile � 85) or non-obese (BMI percentile < 85). The association between ACEs score and obesity was determined using univariate and multivariable logistic regression. Results Of the 948 patients included in the study, 30% (n = 314) were overweight/obese and 53% (n = 504) had no ACE exposure, 19% (n = 179) had low ACE exposure, and 28% (n = 265) had high ACE exposure. High ACE exposure was associated with increased odds of obesity (OR = 1.47, 95%CI = 1.07-2.03, p = 0.026). However, after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, insurance type, and birth weight, the association attenuated and was null (OR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.70-1.46, p = 0.97).

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Psychosocial Stressors and Telomere Length: A Current Review of the Science

Cited by 104 publications

References 126 publications

Health Disparities in COVID-19: Addressing the Role of Social Determinants of Health in Immune System Dysfunction to Turn the Tide

Health Disparities in COVID-19: Addressing the Role of Social Determinants of Health in Immune System Dysfunction to Turn the Tide

Relationship closeness buffers the effects of perceived stress on transcriptomic indicators of cellular stress and biological aging marker p16INK4a

Association between cumulative exposure to adverse childhood experiences and childhood obesity

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