Could stress be costing your looks and your life years? An investigation into stress and premature ageing.

INTRODUCTION

Upon examining the evidence, it is little or no surprise that life stress has dire effects on our health and

longevity and has been directly linked to pre-mature ageing.    Stress is associated with mood disorders such as depression, compromises the immune system (Ipel et al 2004)   and may contribute to excess vulnerability for diseases of ageing such as cardiovascular disease, diseases of the central nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, seasonal affective disorder and schizophrenia plus is even linked to obesity. Tuohimaa (2009). Stress has been shown to cause and accelerate some cancers through accelerated organismal ageing. Substantial evidence also supports abnormalities in stress-related biological systems in depression.  Cancers have also been linked to stress and depression. For example; Reichea et al, 2005 found that stressors and depression are associated with the decreased cytotoxic T-cell and natural-killer-cell activities that affect processes such as immune surveillance of tumours. It has been found that the accumulation of damage on DNA and telomeres cause both aging and cancer. Epidemiologic evidence suggests that stress and anxiety may be a risk factor for the development of Conanary Heart Disease (CHD). Kunansky et al (1998) describe the effects of chronic anxiety, highlighting that this mood disorder may increase the risk of CHD by influencing health behaviours such as smoking, promotes atherogenesis (e.g. via increased risk of hypertension) and can trigger fatal coronary events, either through arrhythmia, plaque rupture, coronary vasospasm, or thrombosis. There appears to be a close functional relationship between the nervous and the immune system in the physiological adaptation to stress, which supports the concept that an optimum level of performance of these two systems is needed to attain a long life span. Guaverbas (2002)

At the cellular level, scientists have proven that accelerated telomere shortening may reflect stress-related oxidative damage to cells and accelerated ageing, and severe psychosocial stress has also been associated with telomere shortening (Tuohimaa, 2009).  Life stress has been shown to shorten the life span by over a decade!

Let's first examine stress? WHAT IS STRESS?

Stress  may be conceived of as a challenge or threat to homeostasis, which generally induces a stress response as an attempt to restore homeostasis.

There are two types of stress that could be categorised as being favourable and less favourable  These stresses can be  ‘eustresses’ that enhance function, whereas  dis- tresses’ can have harmful effects.By definition, Baum (1990) coins the term stress as any uncomfortable "emotional experience accompanied by predictable biochemical, physiological and behavioural changes.

According to psychology.org.au, when we face a stressful event, our bodies respond by activating the nervous system and releasing hormones such as adrenalin and cortisol. These hormones cause physical changes in the body which help us to react quickly and effectively to get through the stressful situation. This is sometimes called the ‘fight or flight’ response. The hormones increase our heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, metabolism and muscle tension. Our pupils dilate and our perspiration rate increases.

While these physical changes help us try to meet the challenges of the stressful situation, they can cause other physical or psychological symptoms if the stress is ongoing and the physical changes don’t settle down.

These symptoms can include:

• Headaches, other aches and pains 
• Sleep disturbance, insomnia 
• Upset stomach, indigestion, diarrhoea 
• Anxiety 
• Anger, irritability 
• Depression 
• Fatigue 
• Feeling overwhelmed and out of control 
• Feeling moody, tearful 
• Difficulty concentrating 
• Low self-esteem, lack of confidence 
• High blood pressure 
• Weakened immune system 
• Heart disease 

STRESS AND PREMATURE AGEING

 JOB STRESS? Is it worth your wage to potentially reduce your lifespan by over a decade? Over-working can cause undue stress and premature ageing, particularly within the

female population.   Irie (2001) investigated the relationship between work-related factors, including psychological stress, and the formation of a type of oxidative DNA damage, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG). 54 healthy workers (27 male and 27 females) in a company were investigated for 8-OH-dG levels in the peripheral blood leukocytes at the time of a questionnaire survey regarding several factors, such as working hours, workload, fatigue, sleep, psychological stress and the prospect of alleviating it. From the results of this study, the authors that,  psychological stress and perceived overwork appear to be related to the pathogenesis of cancer via the formation of 8-OH-dG, particularly in female workers.

Chronic stress has been shown to have catastrophic effects on mood, and can lead to depression. In fact,  It has been known for over 40 years that stressful life events are associated with an episodes of major depression (Kindler et al 1999). 

Depression is highlighted as a mood disorder which accelerates the ageing process in individuals so is certainly worth considering when investigating the anti ageing topic. Depression has been conceptualised as a dysregulated activation of the generalized stress response (Chrousos 1998; Raison and Miller 2003) and can damage your body over time. Chronic activation of stress response mediators, although adaptive in the short term, can result in chronic “wear and tear” to tissues or organ compartments (Chrousos 1998); McEwen (2003) has elegantly modeled mood and anxiety disorders as chronic stresses with chronic biological adaptations that result in long-term biological damage.

Wolkowitz and Epel (2010) found that  depressed individuals have a higher incidence of various diseases of aging, such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, and dementia. Chronic exposure to certain interlinked biochemical pathways that mediate stress-related depression may contribute to “accelerated aging,” cell damage, and certain comorbid medical illnesses

Simon et al (2006) suggest that there is substantial evidence supports abnormalities in stress-related biological systems in depression. Accelerated telomere shortening may reflect stress-related oxidative damage to cells and accelerated aging, and severe psychosocial stress has been linked to telomere shortening. 

In their study, Reichea et al, 2005 found that the persistent activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in the chronic stress response and in depression probably impairs the immune response, contributing to the development and progression of some types of cancer.  Reichea et al, 2005 discovered, both stressors and depression are associated with the decreased cytotoxic T-cell and natural-killer-cell activities that affect processes such as immune surveillance of tumours.

WHAT ARE TELOMERES?

Telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences that cap and protect the ends of chromosomes; critically short telomeres may lead to cellular senescence or carcinogenic transformation.  (Parks et al 2009). Telomeres prevent end-to-end recombination and thus serve a critical role in the maintenance of chromosomal integrity (Black-burn 2000, 2001).

Inside the nucleus of a cell, our genes are arranged along twisted, double-stranded molecules of DNA called chromosomes. At the ends of the chromosomes are stretches of DNA called telomeres, which protect our genetic data, make it possible for cells to divide, and hold some secrets to how we age and get cancer. Telomeres have been compared with the plastic tips on shoelaces, because they keep chromosome ends from fraying and sticking to each other, which would destroy or scramble an organism's genetic information.Yet, each time a cell divides, the telomeres get shorter. When they get too short, the cell can no longer divide; it becomes inactive or "senescent" or it dies. This shortening process is associated with aging, cancer, and a higher risk of death. So telomeres also have been compared with a bomb fuse.

TELOMERES STRESS AND AGEING

For the purposes of this article, It is particularly interesting that telemere length and attrition is linked to our psychological and physiological response to stress. Geneticist Richard Cawthon and colleagues at the University of Utah found shorter telomeres are associated with shorter lives. Among people older than 60, those with shorter telomeres were three times more likely to die from heart disease and eight times more likely to die from infectious disease.

please see this link for further details:

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/chromosomes/telomeres/

During the last few years it has become evident that telomeres and telomerase are main components of the stem cell “ignition” mechanism, providing a way to restrain cancer and delay ageing (Flores and Blasco 2010) Epel and colleagues (2004) recently demonstrated that the chronicity and perceived severity of psychosocial stress (caring for a chronically ill child) was directly associated with accelerated telomere shortening. 

Flores and Blasco (2010) reported that Increased cellular turnover in the presence of stress-related oxidative damage,  exacerbates accelerated telomere shortening and ultimately causes replicative senescence and organ degeneration because stem and precursor cells can no longer replicate and maintain homeostasis (balance) 

Telemore length has also been shown to be positively correlated with quality of life. In a large biracial population-based cohort, Njajou (2009) tested the hypotheses that elderly persons with shorter Telemere Length (TL) in peripheral white blood cells have poorer survival, shorter life span, and fewer years of healthy life (YHL).  The results of this study showed that Telemore Length , was positively associated with more YHL Findings from this study suggested that although Teleomere Length may not be a strong biomarker of survival in older individuals, it may be an informative biomarker of healthy ageing. Epel et al (2004) investigated the hypothesis that stress impacts health by modulating the rate of cellular aging. Epel et al (2004) provided evidence that that psychological stress; both perceived stress and chronicity of stress, is significantly associated with higher oxidative stress, lower telomerase activity, and shorter telomere length, which are known determinants of cell senescence and longevity, in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy premenopausal women. The results of their study showed that, women with the highest levels of perceived stress have telomeres shorter on average by the equivalent of at least one decade of additional aging compared to low stress women. These findings have implications for understanding how, at the cellular level, stress may promote earlier onset of age-related diseases.

Irie et al (2003) performed a cross-sectional study of 156 workers to investigate cancer risk dueto psychological stress, particularly depression, and its underlying mechanism, using a biomarker of cancer-related oxidative DNA damage, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG), in human leukocytes. Interestingly, Irie et al (2003) found that there was a positive correlation between the percentage of neutrophils and the 8-OH-dG levels in females. The authors concluded that Psychological depression was related to cancer risk due to oxidative DNA damage in females, possibly via neutrophil activation.

Parks et al (2009) performed a cross-sectional study examined relative telomere length in relation to perceived stress and urinary stress hormones in a sample of 647 participants (n =647), a cohort of women ages 35 to 74 years who have a sister with breast cancer.  Women with higher perceived stress had somewhat shorter telomeres, but telomere length did not decrease monotonically with higher stress levels. Shorter telomeres were independently associated with increasing age, obesity, and current smoking. Significant stress-related differences in telomere length were seen in women ages 55 years and older those with recent major losses , and those with above-average urinary catecholamines. the authors concluded that although current perceived stress was only modestly associated with shorter telomeres in this broad sample of women, the findings from this study suggest the effect of stress on telomere length may vary depending on neuroendocrine responsiveness, external stressors, and age.

AGEING INTERVENTIONS

According to Flores and Blasco 2010, one way to preserve telomere integrity would be elongating telomeres by activating telomerase; another non-exclusive way would be inhibiting telomere attrition indirectly by slowing-down the rate of stem cell division.

The good news is that, natural interventions and drugs have been shown to activate telomerase. Specifically, physical activity, healthy diet and stress management has been proven to augment telomerase activity in middle-age men and old women  Ornish et al (2010). 

All the risk factors can be used to illustrate the elements for preventing premature ageing. Although further research is needed within this area, quite simply following a consistantly good nutrition regime,  exercise and stress reduction all come into play to prevent disease. 

REFERENCES 

http://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/StressTipSheet.pdf

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Epel EE,  Blackburn EH,  Lin J, Dhabhar FS,   Adler NE,   Morrow JE, 

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