Negative life experiences may affect longevity, says a Duke University study. Researchers analyzed DNA samples from several 5-year-old children and reanalyzed them in five years.
The researchers found that the children who suffered physical abuse, bullying, or had witnessed adults engage in domestic violence had “the fastest erosion of their telomeres, compared with children who experienced just one type of violence or did not experience violence at all.”
Telomeres are specialize structure that are central for cellular replication. “They are essential for protecting chromosome ends,” says Carol Greider, a molecular biologist at the John Hopkins University, who was awarded a share of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for telomere researcher.
“When the telomere gets to be very short, there are consequences,” she says, noting the increased risk of age-related ailments.Several other studies have also linked trauma to telomere erosion.
A study of 5,243 nurses nationwide found that those who suffered chronic stress and phobia had visible physical effects and significantly shorter telomeres than those who didn’t. “It was like looking at someone who is 60 years old verses someone who was 66 years old,” said Olivia Okereke, the study’s lead author.
In a separate Post Traumatic Stress Disorder study, participants were asked whether they had a history of severe childhood trauma, including neglect, family violence, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. The results showed that those that suffered the greatest childhood trauma had shorter telomere length. Interestingly, those participants without a history of childhood abuse had telomere length equal to those of the healthy control group.
There are no studies on prisoner stress and its impact on telomeres, but it is known that they suffer stress on a daily basis.
University of Santa Cruz Professor Craig Haney studied the effects of prison on prisoner and found “the fact that a high percentage of persons presently incarcerated have experienced childhood trauma means, among other things, that the harsh, punitive and uncaring nature of prison life may present a kind of ‘re-traumatization.’”
A San Quentin prisoner who goes by the name Ramirez characterized prison as stressful, a place were every waking hour is controlled. “There’s an element of fear,” he said. “You have to follow the administration rules and the convict rules. It was all so stressful that I lost 90 pounds and started taking antidepressants to cope with the stress.”
“San Quentin is a better environment than most prisons,” Ramirez says. “It’s like being on a college campus. The fact that there are different sports and geese all around, I feel very grateful to be here.”
The only complaint Ramirez has is the long waiting list for self-help classes. Scientists don’t understand exactly how negative life experiences accelerate telomere erosion, but they believe positive behavior and having an active lifestyle through exercise, such as running, may slow down the negative erosion of telomeres.
