Telomere Length in Elite Athletes

Muniesa, Carlos; Verde, Zoraida; Díaz-Ureña, G; Santiago, Catalina; Gutiérrez, Fernando; Díaz, Enrique; Gómez‐Gallego, Félix; Pareja‐Galeano, Helios; Soares‐Miranda, Luísa; Lucía, Alejandro

doi:10.1123/ijspp.2016-0471

Cited by 24 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Our findings demonstrating that elite master sprinters have TL longer than their age-matched controls are in accordance with previous studies conducted with endurance athletes [8,21]. Muniesa, et al [21] reported that TL of elite endurance athletes was 16 % longer than the non-athlete counterparts. Similarly, Denham, et al [8] demonstrated that endurance athletes (aged between 18 and 55 years old) had TL 7.1 % longer in comparison to controls that were not engaged in a structured training.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…The main outcome confirmed our previous hypothesis that master sprinters have longer TL than their age-matched controls, with TL being negatively associated with body fat and performance decline over decades, and positively associated with the performance level of the participants. Increased physical activity (PA) has been largely demonstrated to be associated with longer TL [21,24,29]. However, there is evidence suggesting that for middle-aged adults (50-70yrs old) a very elevated level of low-intensity PA might have the same effect as sedentary behavior on TL, while moderate PA levels seemed to be optimal for TL preservation [20].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This possibly indicates a higher difference between athletes and non-athletes from present study in comparison to the above mentioned studies. In the present study however, our participants were middle-aged sprinters, while these other studies conducted their investigations in young elite athletes from several sports modalities [19,21].…”

Section: Non-athletes (N = 10)mentioning

confidence: 95%

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Longer Telomere Length in Elite Master Sprinters: Relationship to Performance and Body Composition

et al. 2017

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Emergent evidence suggests that the long-term healthy lifestyle of master athletes may attenuate aging. We compared telomere length (TL) of high-level master sprinters and non-athlete age-matched controls, and analyzed the relationships of TL with performance and body fat. Elite master sprinters (n=11; aged 50.1±9.2yrs) and healthy untrained controls (n=10; aged 45.4±10.9yrs) had blood samples collected for biochemical and biomolecular analyses. Master sprinters had longer TL, lower body fat and BMI, and a better lipid profile than age-matched controls (p<0.05). A large effect size was verified comparing TL between athletes vs. controls (Cohen's d=1.039), with a significant negative correlation between TL and performance decline per decade (r=-0.624, p<0.01) and a positive correlation of TL and actual performance level (r=0.641, p<0.01). In conclusion, TL of elite master sprinters was longer than their untrained peers, and seems to be not only a marker of health status, but also an indicator of sports longevity since both actual performance level and its decrease over years were related to TL. Further research might assess the TL of elite master endurance athletes for comparison with sprinters, and also investigate the underlying mechanisms by which the attenuation of telomere shortening occurs in master athletes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Non-athletes (N = 10)mentioning

confidence: 95%

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Longer Telomere Length in Elite Master Sprinters: Relationship to Performance and Body Composition

et al. 2017

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“…Engagement in exercise is associated with longer telomeres and may slow down TL shortening [29]. Higher aerobic capacity is associated with longer leukocyte TL in endurance trained athletes [30][31][32] and young (18-32 yrs) [33] and older exercised-trained adults (55-72yrs) when compared to controls [34]. However, the literature regarding TL in skeletal muscle is conflicting, with only few studies reporting a positive association between higher levels of physical activity and longer telomeres in young and older healthy populations [35][36][37]; while other studies reported no association between skeletal muscle TL and exercise training levels [38,39].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aerobic capacity and telomere length in human skeletal muscle and leukocytes across the lifespan

Hiam

Smith

Voisin

et al. 2020

Aging

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A reduction in aerobic capacity and the shortening of telomeres are hallmarks of the ageing process. We examined whether a lower aerobic capacity is associated with shorter TL in skeletal muscle and/or leukocytes, across a wide age range of individuals. We also tested whether TL in human skeletal muscle (MTL) correlates with TL in leukocytes (LTL). Eighty-two recreationally active, healthy men from the Gene SMART cohort (31.4±8.2 years; body mass index (BMI)=25.3±3.3kg/m 2), and 11 community dwelling older men (74.2±7.5yearsold; BMI=28.7±2.8kg/m 2) participated in the study. Leukocytes and skeletal muscle samples were collected at rest. Relative telomere length (T/S ratio) was measured by RT-PCR. Associations between TL, aerobic capacity (VO2 peak and peak power) and age were assessed with robust linear models. Older age was associated with shorter LTL (45% variance explained, P<0.001), but not MTL (P= 0.7). Aerobic capacity was not associated with MTL (P=0.5), nor LTL (P=0.3). MTL and LTL were correlated across the lifespan (rs=0.26, P=0.03). In healthy individuals, age explain most of the variability of LTL and this appears to be independent of individual aerobic capacity. Individuals with longer LTL also have a longer MTL, suggesting that there might be a shared molecular mechanism regulating telomere length.

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Sport and longevity: an observational study of international athletes

Altulea,

Rutten,

Verdijk

et al. 2024

GeroScience

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The human lifespan is influenced by various factors, with physical activity being a significant contributor. Despite the clear benefit of exercise on health and longevity, the association between different types of sports and lifespan is yet to be considered. Accordingly, we aimed to study this association in a large international cohort of former athletes using a robust linear regression model. We collected data on athletes from public sources, accumulating a total of 95,210 observations, 95.5% of which were accounted for by males. The dataset represented athletes born between 1862 and 2002 from 183 countries across 44 sports disciplines. We calculated the change in lifespan by measuring the difference in age between athletes and the corresponding reference populations, while accounting for variations caused by sex, year of death, and country. The results revealed that various sports impacted lifespan differently, with male athletes being more likely to experience benefits from sports than female athletes. Among male athletes, pole vaulting and gymnastics were linked to the highest extension in lifespan (8.4 years, 95% CI [6.8, 9.9] and 8.2 years, 95% CI [7.4, 9], respectively), while volleyball and sumo wrestling were the most negatively associated with lifespan (− 5.4 years, 95% CI [− 7, − 3.8]; − 9.8 years, 95% CI [− 11, − 8.6], respectively). The association between lifespan and popular team sports in males was positive for cricket, rowing, baseball, water polo, Australian rules, hurling, lacrosse, field hockey, minimal for rugby, canoeing and kayaking, basketball, gridiron football, and football (soccer), and negative for handball and volleyball. Racquet sports (i.e., tennis and badminton) exhibited a consistent and positive association in both male and female athletes, as shown by an extended lifespan of up to 5.7 years in males (95% CI [5, 6.5]) and 2.8 years in females (95% CI [1.8, 3.9]). Although lacking conclusive evidence, we theorize that the observed results may be attributed to the aerobic and anaerobic characteristics of each sport, with mixed sports yielding the maximum benefits for the lifespan. While results from female athletes should be cautiously interpreted, our study highlights the complex interplay between sports and lifespan and contributes to the growing body of knowledge on the multifaceted relationship between physical activity and human longevity. Graphical Abstract

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Telomere Length in Elite Athletes

Abstract: The results suggest that young elite athletes have longer telomeres than their inactive peers. Further research might assess the LTL of elite athletes of varying ages compared with both age-matched active and inactive individuals.

Cited by 24 publications

References 8 publications

Longer Telomere Length in Elite Master Sprinters: Relationship to Performance and Body Composition

Longer Telomere Length in Elite Master Sprinters: Relationship to Performance and Body Composition

Aerobic capacity and telomere length in human skeletal muscle and leukocytes across the lifespan

Sport and longevity: an observational study of international athletes

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