Physical Activity, Physical Fitness, and Leukocyte Telomere Length.
Author: Soares-Miranda L1, Imamura F, Siscovick D, Jenny NS, Fitzpatrick AL, Mozaffarian D.
Affiliation:
11Research Center in Physical Activity Health and Leisure, Faculty of Sport University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; 2MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine Cambridge Biomedical Campus, United Kingdom; 3New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY; 4Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; 5Department of Pathology, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT; 6Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA.
Conference/Journal: Med Sci Sports Exerc.
Date published: 2015 Jun 16
Other:
Word Count: 253
INTRODUCTION:
The influence of physical activity (PA) and physical fitness (PF) at older ages on changes in telomere length (TL), repetitive DNA sequences that may mark biologic aging, is not well-established. Few prior studies have been conducted in older adults, these were mainly cross-sectional, and few evaluated PF.
METHODS:
We investigated cross-sectional and prospective associations of PA and PF with leukocyte TL among 582 older adults (age 73±5 y at baseline) in the Cardiovascular Health Study, having serial TL measures and PA and PF assessed multiple times. Cross-sectional associations were assessed using multivariable repeated-measures regression, in which cumulatively averaged PA and PF measures were related to TL. Longitudinal analyses assessed cumulatively averaged PA and PF against later changes in TL; and changes in cumulatively averaged PA and PF against changes in TL.
RESULTS:
Cross-sectionally, greater walking distance and chair test performance, but not other PA and PF measures, were each associated with longer TL (p-trend=0.007, 0.04 respectively). In longitudinal analyses, no significant associations were observed between PA and PF with change in TL. In contrast, changes in leisure-time activity and chair test performance were each inversely associated with changes in TL.
CONCLUSIONS:
Cross-sectional analyses suggest that greater PA and PF are associated with longer TL. Prospective analyses show that changes in PA and PF are associated with differences in changes in TL. Even so, even later in life, changes in certain PA and PF measures are associated with changes in TL, suggesting that leisure-time activity and fitness could reduce leukocyte telomere attrition among older adults.
PMID: 26083773
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