Maturing early may not be the only way children who face adversity age. Researchers have found that children who experienced childhood adversity or psychiatric disorders when young may age faster at a cellular level. Stress is also linked to health conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
The study, published online in Biological Psychiatry, was conducted by researchers at Butler Hospital. They discovered that both telomeres and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) change, which can speed up physical aging, according to Science Daily.
Identifying the changes that occur at a cellular level due to these psychosocial factors allows us to understand the causes of these poor health conditions and possibly the overall aging process, Audrey Tyrka, associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University, told Time magazine.
Tyrka's team had 299 healthy adults complete diagnostic interviews, focusing on whether they'd had psychiatric disorders or lived through such childhood adversities as the death of a parent or child abuse and neglect.
"Participants were categorized into four groups based upon the presence or absence of childhood adversity and the presence or absence of lifetime depressive, anxiety, or substance use disorders. Using standard techniques, researchers extracted DNA from whole blood samples for each participant and quantified telomere length and mtDNA copy number, a measure of mitochondrial DNA content," Science Daily explained.
Telomeres protect DNA, but they can be damaged by many things, including smoking, obesity, lack of exercise and poor nutrition.
The findings showed that childhood adversity and lifetime psychiatric issues, including major depression and anxiety, were each linked to shortened telomeres and more mtDNA copies. The researchers were also able to show that the cellular change "is not secondary to medication use or comorbid medical illness."
T.A. Sciences explains telomeres this way: "Telomeres are the caps at the end of each strand of DNA that protect our chromosomes, like the plastic tips at the end of shoelaces. Without the coating, shoelaces become frayed until they can no longer do their job, just as without telomeres, DNA strands become damaged, and our cells cant do their job."
The study, published online in Biological Psychiatry, was conducted by researchers at Butler Hospital. They discovered that both telomeres and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) change, which can speed up physical aging, according to Science Daily.
Identifying the changes that occur at a cellular level due to these psychosocial factors allows us to understand the causes of these poor health conditions and possibly the overall aging process, Audrey Tyrka, associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University, told Time magazine.
Tyrka's team had 299 healthy adults complete diagnostic interviews, focusing on whether they'd had psychiatric disorders or lived through such childhood adversities as the death of a parent or child abuse and neglect.
"Participants were categorized into four groups based upon the presence or absence of childhood adversity and the presence or absence of lifetime depressive, anxiety, or substance use disorders. Using standard techniques, researchers extracted DNA from whole blood samples for each participant and quantified telomere length and mtDNA copy number, a measure of mitochondrial DNA content," Science Daily explained.
Telomeres protect DNA, but they can be damaged by many things, including smoking, obesity, lack of exercise and poor nutrition.
The findings showed that childhood adversity and lifetime psychiatric issues, including major depression and anxiety, were each linked to shortened telomeres and more mtDNA copies. The researchers were also able to show that the cellular change "is not secondary to medication use or comorbid medical illness."
T.A. Sciences explains telomeres this way: "Telomeres are the caps at the end of each strand of DNA that protect our chromosomes, like the plastic tips at the end of shoelaces. Without the coating, shoelaces become frayed until they can no longer do their job, just as without telomeres, DNA strands become damaged, and our cells cant do their job."
