Physical Activity Domains/Recommendations and Leukocyte Telomere Length in US Adults.
Author: Ogawa EF1, Leveille SG, Wright JA, Shi L, Camhi SM, You T
Affiliation:
11Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, 2Department of Nursing, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, 3Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, 4Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Conference/Journal: Med Sci Sports Exerc.
Date published: 2017 Mar 3
Other:
Special Notes: doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001253. [Epub ahead of print] , Word Count: 274
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between different physical activity (PA) domains, PA recommendations, and leukocyte telomere length (LTL) using data from a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999-2002.
METHODS: A total of 6,933 U.S. adults (3,402 men, 3,531 women; age range: 20-84 years) who completed demographic, general health and PA questionnaires and provided a blood sample were included in the analyses. Multivariable-adjusted linear regression models were used to determine associations between PA (domain-specific PA (household/yardwork PA, transportation PA, moderate leisure time PA (LTPA), and vigorous LTPA), total moderate PA and PA recommendation groups) and log-transformed LTL adjusting for age, gender, education, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and body mass index.
RESULTS: On average, an increase of one hour/week of vigorous LTPA was associated with a 0.31% (p<0.001) longer LTL, and an increase of one hour/week of household/yard work PA was associated with a 0.21% (p=0.03) shorter LTL while adjusted for sociodemographic and health behavior covariates. Neither transportation PA nor moderate LTPA was significantly associated with LTL. Additionally, compared to not meeting the PA recommendation (<150min/week), exceeding the recommended PA levels (≥300 min/week) was positively associated with longer LTL (p=0.04), while there was no difference in telomere length between those not meeting versus those meeting the PA recommendation (150-299 min/week).
CONCLUSION: Greater engagement in vigorous LTPA and exceeding the PA recommendation may have a protective effect against telomere shortening. Future studies should examine the association between PA and LTL by exploring potential mediators such as sedentary behavior, genetics, nutrition and chronic diseases.
PMID: 28263285 DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001253
BACK
