Abstract
IntroductionTelomere length (TL) is a biomarker of accumulated cellular damage and human aging. Evidence in healthy populations suggests that TL is impacted by a host of psychosocial and lifestyle factors, including physical activity. This is the first study to evaluate the relationship between self-reported physical activity and telomere length in early stage breast cancer survivors.MethodsA cross-sectional sample of 392 postmenopausal women with stage I-III breast cancer at an outpatient oncology clinic of a large university hospital completed questionnaires and provided a blood sample. TL was determined using terminal restriction fragment length analysis of genomic DNA isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Physical activity was dichotomized into two groups (none versus moderate to vigorous) using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with mean TL and physical activity.ResultsAmong participants, 66 (17%) did not participate in any physical activity. In multivariate model adjusted for age, compared to those who participated in moderate to vigorous physical activity, women who participated in no physical activity had significantly shorter TL (adjusted coefficient β = −0.22; 95% confidence interval (CI), −0.41 to −0.03; P = .03). Non-white race, lower education and depressive symptoms were associated with lack of self-reported physical activity (P < 0.05 for all) but not TL.ConclusionLack of physical activity is associated with shortened TL, warranting prospective investigation of the potential role of physical activity on cellular aging in breast cancer survivors.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13058-014-0413-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Telomere length (TL) is a biomarker of accumulated cellular damage and human aging
Despite the emerging evidence that physical activity may have a positive impact on TL and the growing interest in survivorship programs that encourage breast cancer survivors to be more active, no study has evaluated the association between physical activity and cellular aging in breast cancer survivors
This study aims to evaluate the association between self-reported physical activity and TL in a large crosssectional sample of postmenopausal breast cancer survivors
Summary
Evidence in healthy populations suggests that TL is impacted by a host of psychosocial and lifestyle factors, including physical activity. This is the first study to evaluate the relationship between self-reported physical activity and telomere length in early stage breast cancer survivors. In a study of 69 men and women between the ages of 50 and 70 years, individuals reporting moderate levels of physical activity had longer TL than participants at the lower and higher ends of the energy expenditure spectrum [9]. Despite the emerging evidence that physical activity may have a positive impact on TL and the growing interest in survivorship programs that encourage breast cancer survivors to be more active, no study has evaluated the association between physical activity and cellular aging in breast cancer survivors
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