Summary:
In his article, "The Ravages of Stress", Michael D. Lemonick conclusively ties aging with stress. There are three main distinctions found in cells of the more stressed women - each has its own role in the aging process of these women as well. The cells had shorter telomeres. Telomeres are bits of DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes. Through previous lab experiments it can be proven that telomeres get a little smaller each time a cell divides and that when telomeres are worn out, cells can't divide any longer and eventually die. In older humans people tend to have shorter telomeres, so by this measure, the most stressed women had cells that looked ten years older than their actual age.
"The Ravages of Stress"
In his article, "The Ravages of Stress", Michael D. Lemonick expressed a very interesting study, published on page forty-five in Time of December 1999. In his overview of a study on how stress affects aging he clearly explains the scientific processes that back up the claim. After discussing the folk wisdom that "everyone knows that stress can make you age before you time", all that science had established thus far was that people under chronic stress tend to have weak immune systems and have a higher risk of heart disease. This doesn't prove the new study however.
A team of scientists reported a week before this article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that long-term, insistent stress on mothers can damage the DNA of their immune-system cells in a fashion that could speed up aging. The study originated when Elissa Epel, a psychologist at the University of California, asked Elizabeth Blackburn, a biochemist, if any actually had an explanation as to why those under stress look worn and old.
They decided to find out and gathered a team of psychologists and biologists and fifty-eight women extending from age twenty to fifty. About 80% if the women were the primary caregivers for a child chronically ill with cerebral palsy, autism or some other serious disorder; the rest had healthy kids. All mothers received a standard test that measured how stressed they had been feeling in the preceding month. Their blood was also drawn and examined. The scientists adjusted the data to be void of all outside influences, but even so the cells looked different. There were three important differences: the cells had shorter telomeres, the most stressed had lower levels of telomerase, and stressed women's cells had accelerated levels of free radicals. The experiment has not been fully accepted; it will need to be replicated. The scientists are most interested in tracing the pathways - "how you go from the level of people getting no sleep down to the cellular level. It will be amazing once we understand that," states Robert Sapolsky of Stanford University.
There are three main distinctions found in cells of the more stressed women - each has its own role in the aging process of these women as well. The cells had shorter telomeres. Telomeres are bits of DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes. Through previous lab experiments it can be proven that telomeres get a little smaller each time a cell divides and that when telomeres are worn out, cells can't divide any longer and eventually die. In older humans people tend to have shorter telomeres, so by this measure, the most stressed women had cells that looked ten years older than their actual age.
The most stressed women also had telomerase present at lower levels. Telomerase is an enzyme that repairs damaged telomeres. Without telomerase to repair the telomeres, they deteriorate faster. The lack of telomeres and telomerase isn't necessarily the key to premature aging, but people with a rare genetic condition that reduces their telomerase production tend to show visible signs of premature againg and frequently die at a young age due to heart disease and a weak immune system.
Finally, the women's higher stress levels correlated to their high level of free radicals. Free radicals are a type of highly reactive molecule that can damage DNA. Even though the women with the higher stress levels tended to be those with children born with disorders and therefore may have already had something wrong with their DNA that stress didn't trigger. However, the degree of cellular damage was highest in women who had been caring for a disable child for the longest period of time.
This evidence seems very conclusive to me. It seems these scientists have made a profound foundation for even further research and understanding. All of their research is reinforced with scientific reasoning and visible results in the women they tested. To me this project can only go further; it is definitely not a step back or off tangent. I would be very interested to read of any additional information this topic has uncovered - I think it is very important.
This is the complete article, containing 693 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
