An incidental finding during a brain plasticity study: substantial telomere length shortening after COVID-19 lockdown in the older population

IF 5.3 2区 医学 Q1 GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY
Kirsten Jahn, Shambhabi Chatterjee, Christopher Sinke, Jonas Janik Ralf Koberschinski, Kristin Jünemann, Clara Eline James, Florian Worschech, Damien Marie, Eckart Altenmüller, Christian Bär, Tillmann Horst Christoph Krüger
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Abstract

The detrimental effects of lockdowns have already been proven by numerous studies, mainly using psychometric measurements. Since telomere shortening is a driver of aging and aging-associated disorders, including cognitive decline, the telomere length in the older population has been investigated in the current study. Measurements were taken over a 6-month period just before and during the 6 months that included the first lockdown. The cohort of 55 persons aged 64 to 70 years was investigated in the context of a study focusing on neuroplasticity. Participants were recruited in Germany and Switzerland and characterized by psychometric measurements concerning neurocognition and neuroplasticity. Telomere lengths were measured by real-time PCR-based LTL measurement. We found an impressive and significant decline in telomere lengths in the period that included the lockdown (2.33 (± 0.1) at T1 vs. 1.35 (± 0.1) at T2), whereas it was stable in the phase before the lockdown in the same individuals (T0 was 2.25 (± 0.1 S.E.M.) vs. T1, 2.33 (± 0.1)). Correlation of the sudden decrease revealed no linkage to health issues or general physical activity but was in trend related to a decline in the WHOQOL-BREF Social Score referring to the social interaction of the study participants. Our data support, at a biological level, the results of clinical and psychosocial studies showing the detrimental effects of lockdowns.

大脑可塑性研究中的偶然发现:在老年人群中,COVID-19锁定后端粒长度大幅缩短
许多研究已经证明了封锁的有害影响,主要是使用心理测量法。由于端粒缩短是衰老和衰老相关疾病(包括认知能力下降)的驱动因素,因此目前的研究对老年人群的端粒长度进行了研究。测量是在第一次封锁之前和期间的6个月期间进行的。在一项关于神经可塑性的研究中,对55名年龄在64至70岁之间的人进行了调查。参与者在德国和瑞士招募,并通过有关神经认知和神经可塑性的心理测量来表征。端粒长度通过基于实时pcr的LTL测量来测量。我们发现,端粒长度在封城期间显著下降(T1为2.33(±0.1),T2为1.35(±0.1)),而在封城前的阶段,端粒长度保持稳定(T0为2.25(±0.1 S.E.M.), T1为2.33(±0.1))。突然减少的相关性显示与健康问题或一般体育活动没有联系,但与WHOQOL-BREF社会评分(指研究参与者的社会互动)的下降趋势相关。我们的数据在生物学层面上支持临床和社会心理研究的结果,表明封锁的有害影响。
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来源期刊
GeroScience
GeroScience Medicine-Complementary and Alternative Medicine
CiteScore
10.50
自引率
5.40%
发文量
182
期刊介绍: GeroScience is a bi-monthly, international, peer-reviewed journal that publishes articles related to research in the biology of aging and research on biomedical applications that impact aging. The scope of articles to be considered include evolutionary biology, biophysics, genetics, genomics, proteomics, molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, endocrinology, immunology, physiology, pharmacology, neuroscience, and psychology.
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