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- Title
Telomere shortening in late‐life depression: A potential marker of depression severity.
- Authors
Mendes‐Silva, Ana Paula; Vieira, Erica Leandro Marciano; Xavier, Gabriela; Barroso, Lucelia Scarabeli Silva; Bertola, Laiss; Martins, Efrem Augusto Ribeiro; Brietzke, Elisa Macedo; Belangero, Sintia Iole Nogueira; Diniz, Breno Satler
- Abstract
Objectives: Telomeres are structures at the extremity of chromosomes that prevents genomic instability, and its shortening seems to be a hallmark of cellular aging. Past studies have shown contradictory results of telomere length (TL) in major depression, and are a few studies in late‐life depression (LLD). This explores the association between TL as a molecular marker of aging and diagnosis of LLD, the severity of depressive symptoms, and cognitive performance in older adults. Methods/design: We included 78 older adults (45 with LLD and 33 nondepressed controls, according to DSM‐V criteria), aged 60–90 years. TL was measured in leukocytes by a quantitative polymerase chain reaction, determining the relative ratio (T/S) between the telomere region copy number (T) and a single copy gene (S), using a relative standard curve. Results: TL was significantly shorter in the LLD compared with control participants (p =.039). Comparing groups through the severity of depressive symptoms, we found a negative correlation with the severity of depressive symptoms (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale‐21, r = −0.325, p =.004) and medical burden (r = −0.271, p =.038). There was no significant correlation between TL and cognitive performance (Mattis Dementia Rating Scale, r = 0.152, p =.21). Conclusions: We found that older adults with LLD have shorter telomere than healthy controls, especially those with a more severe depressive episode. Our findings suggest that shorter TL can be a marker of the severity of depressive episodes in older adults and indicate that these individuals may be at higher risk of age‐associated adverse outcomes linked to depression.
- Subjects
OLDER people; TELOMERES; CHROMOSOME structure; CELLULAR aging; REMINISCENCE therapy; MENTAL depression
- Publication
Brain & Behavior, 2021, Vol 11, Issue 8, p1
- ISSN
2162-3279
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/brb3.2255