Positive lifestyle changes associated with longer telomeres

Friday, September 20, 2013. The results of a pilot study described online on September 16, 2013 in The Lancet Oncology reveals that improvements in diet, exercise, stress management and social support are associated with longer telomeres: DNA-protein complexes at the end of chromosomes which shorten with cellular aging.

Acting on 2008 findings of an association between positive lifestyle changes implemented over a three month period and an increase in telomerase (the enzyme responsible for maintaining the cells' telomeres), Dean Ornish, MD of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and his colleagues analyzed the effects of lifestyle improvements on telomerase and telomeres over a longer period of time. The current study included 35 men with low-risk prostate cancer who had elected to undergo active surveillance. Ten men participated in the lifestyle intervention and 25 served as controls. The lifestyle program consisted of a diet high in whole foods, plant-based protein, fruit, vegetables, grains and legumes that was low in fat and refined carbohydrates; a moderate aerobic exercise regimen, stress management consisting of yoga, meditation and relaxation, and weekly support group sessions. Blood samples collected from the subjects at the beginning of the study and after five years were analyzed for peripheral-blood mononuclear cell telomere length and telomerase levels.

While prostate specific antigen (PSA, a marker of prostate cancer progression) levels increased slightly in both groups over the course of the study, the difference between the groups was not significant. Men who engaged in the lifestyle program had telomeres that were 10% longer on average at the end of the study, while the control group experienced an average 3% decrease in length. Greater adherence to lifestyle recommendations was associated with a corresponding increase in telomere length. The researchers did not observe a significant difference in telomerase activity between the treatment and control group at the end of the study period, but they remark that "Because the sample size is small, however, this finding cannot entirely rule out the presence of a difference that our study was underpowered to detect."

"Our genes, and our telomeres, are not necessarily our fate," stated Dr Ornish, MD, who is a clinical professor of medicine at UCSF. "So often people think 'Oh, I have bad genes, there's nothing I can do about it. But these findings indicate that telomeres may lengthen to the degree that people change how they live. Research indicates that longer telomeres are associated with fewer illnesses and longer life."

"The implications of this relatively small pilot study may go beyond men with prostate cancer," he added. "If validated by large-scale randomized controlled trials, these comprehensive lifestyle changes may significantly reduce the risk of a wide variety of diseases and premature mortality."

"This was a breakthrough finding that needs to be confirmed by larger studies," observed co-senior author Peter R. Carroll, MD, MPH, who is a professor and chair of the UCSF Department of Urology. "Telomere shortening increases the risk of a wide variety of chronic diseases. We believe that increases in telomere length may help to prevent these conditions and perhaps even lengthen lifespan."