More from the Sister Study

In the March 17, 2009 issue of Life Extension Update, we reported the finding from the Sister Study, a cohort of healthy sisters of breast cancer patients, of a beneficial association between multivitamin use and telomere length, a biomarker of aging. Telomeres, which are repeating DNA sequences that cap the ends of chromosomes, shorten with increased cellular aging.

In articles published in the February and March, 2009 issues of the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, further findings from the Sister Study concerning the impact of lifestyle on telomere length were revealed. In the February, 2009 issue, Christine Parks, PhD, of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and her associates evaluated the effect of stress on telomere length in 647 Sister Study participants. Telomere length in DNA from blood samples was measured, and stress hormone levels in urine were assessed. Questionnaires completed by the subjects provided information on perceived stress levels. Continue Reading