 |
|
The Association Between Physical Activity in Leisure Time and Leukocyte Telomere Length
Lynn F. Cherkas, PhD;
Janice L. Hunkin, BSc;
Bernet S. Kato, PhD;
J. Brent Richards, MD;
Jeffrey P. Gardner, PhD;
Gabriela L. Surdulescu, MSc;
Masayuki Kimura, MD, PhD;
Xiaobin Lu, MD;
Tim D. Spector, MD, FRCP;
Abraham Aviv, MD
Arch Intern Med. 2008;168(2):154-158.
Background Physical inactivity is an important risk factor for many aging-related diseases. Leukocyte telomere dynamics (telomere length and age-dependent attrition rate) are ostensibly a biological indicator of human aging. We therefore tested the hypothesis that physical activity level in leisure time (over the past 12 months) is associated with leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in normal healthy volunteers.
Methods We studied 2401 white twin volunteers, comprising 2152 women and 249 men, with questionnaires on physical activity level, smoking status, and socioeconomic status. Leukocyte telomere length was derived from the mean terminal restriction fragment length and adjusted for age and other potential confounders.
Results Leukocyte telomere length was positively associated with increasing physical activity level in leisure time (P < .001); this association remained significant after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, smoking, socioeconomic status, and physical activity at work. The LTLs of the most active subjects were 200 nucleotides longer than those of the least active subjects (7.1 and 6.9 kilobases, respectively; P = .006). This finding was confirmed in a small group of twin pairs discordant for physical activity level (on average, the LTL of more active twins was 88 nucleotides longer than that of less active twins; P = .03).
Conclusions A sedentary lifestyle (in addition to smoking, high body mass index, and low socioeconomic status) has an effect on LTL and may accelerate the aging process. This provides a powerful message that could be used by clinicians to promote the potentially antiaging effect of regular exercise.
Author Affiliations: Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology Unit, King's College London, St Thomas' Hospital Campus, London, England (Drs Cherkas, Kato, Richards, and Spector and Mss Hunkin and Surdulescu); and The Center of Human Development and Aging, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School, Newark (Drs Gardner, Kimura, Lu, and Aviv).
 CiteULike  Connotea  Delicious  Digg  Facebook  Reddit  Technorati  Twitter
What's this?
RELATED ARTICLES
Successful Aging: Is It in Our Future?
Jack M. Guralnik
Arch Intern Med. 2008;168(2):131-132.
EXTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Cystatin C and Aging Success
Mark J. Sarnak, Ronit Katz, Linda F. Fried, David Siscovick, Brian Kestenbaum, Stephen Seliger, Dena Rifkin, Russell Tracy, Anne B. Newman, Michael G. Shlipak, and for the Cardiovascular Health Study
Arch Intern Med. 2008;168(2):147-153.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
|
Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Leukocyte Telomere Length in Women
Du et al.
Am J Epidemiol 2012;0:kwr330v1-kwr330.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Diet-related telomere shortening and chromosome stability
Marcon et al.
Mutagenesis 2012;27:49-57.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Suboptimal Exercise Compliance: Common Barriers to an Active Lifestyle and Counseling Strategies to Overcome Them
Brinks and Franklin
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF LIFESTYLE MEDICINE 2011;5:253-261.
ABSTRACT
Is Telomere Length a Biomarker of Aging? A Review
Mather et al.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2011;66A:202-213.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Telomere Length and Mortality in Elderly Men: The Zutphen Elderly Study
Houben et al.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2011;66A:38-44.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Association Between Left Ventricular Mass and Telomere Length in a Population Study
Kuznetsova et al.
Am J Epidemiol 2010;172:440-450.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Improving Precision in Investigating Aging: Why Telomeres Can Cause Problems
Shiels
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2010;65A:789-791.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Genome-wide association identifies OBFC1 as a locus involved in human leukocyte telomere biology
Levy et al.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2010;107:9293-9298.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Associations between diet, lifestyle factors, and telomere length in women
Cassidy et al.
Am J Clin Nutr 2010;91:1273-1280.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Physical Exercise Prevents Cellular Senescence in Circulating Leukocytes and in the Vessel Wall
Werner et al.
Circulation 2009;120:2438-2447.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Association of Leukocyte Telomere Length With Echocardiographic Left Ventricular Mass: The Framingham Heart Study
Vasan et al.
Circulation 2009;120:1195-1202.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Letter to the Editor
Mascitelli et al.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF LIFESTYLE MEDICINE 2009;3:326-326.
Short Telomeres and Prognosis of Hypertension in a Chinese Population
Yang et al.
Hypertension 2009;53:639-645.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Total mortality after changes in leisure time physical activity in 50 year old men: 35 year follow-up of population based cohort
Byberg et al.
BMJ 2009;338:b688-b688.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Unravelling the secrets of ageing
Mayor
BMJ 2009;338:a3024-a3024.
FULL TEXT
Dietary patterns, food groups, and telomere length in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)
Nettleton et al.
Am J Clin Nutr 2008;88:1405-1412.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
No Association Between Physical Activity and Telomere Length in an Elderly Chinese Population 65 Years and Older
Arch Intern Med 2008;168:2163-2164.
FULL TEXT
Physical Activity and Leukocyte Telomere Length
JWatch General 2008;2008:2-2.
FULL TEXT
Successful Aging: Is It in Our Future?
Guralnik
Arch Intern Med 2008;168:131-132.
FULL TEXT
|
