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Many studies in animals and humans show that the length of telomeres in cells (typically, white blood cells) correlates with disease and mortality: The shorter the telomeres, the worse the outcome. Other studies show that life stressors lead to shorter telomeres. In addition, “biological age” (vs. chronological age) can be estimated by the extent of epigenetic changes (specifically, DNA methylation) in cells. In two studies, researchers evaluated these measures of biological age.
In a prospective longitudinal study, a multi-institutional team examined self-reported life-event data and telomere length in salivary cells from 4600 people. Cumulative adverse life events correlated with shorter telomeres. Adverse events in childhood correlated mo…