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Depression can accelerate the aging

Dutch scientists have conducted new research that people who suffer from depression, aging much earlier than others. These studies in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, was published on 12 November.

This experiment involved 1,900 peoplewho had suffered from depressive disorders, and another 500 peoplewho voluntarily participated in the experiment and never suffered from depression. Scientists during the experiment was measured the length of cell structures called telomeres and have end sections of chromosomes during cell division and protect the DNA. Telomeres become a little shorter in the normal process of cell division, it follows that as their length determines would be a sign of cellular aging.

As a result of researches scientists came to the conclusion that depressed people have a shorter Calosoma than the control group. This suggests that cellular aging people who suffer from depression, occurs several years faster, these are the conclusions of scientists.

In addition, shorter telomere length is found in people with severe forms of depression and prolonged symptoms. The result was confirmed, even taking into account such confounding factors as alcohol, Smoking, body weight and other factors, which can stimulate the aging process in the body.

"Physiological stress due to the presence of depression has a strong negative effect on the human body, resulting in accelerated biological aging," says the author of a scientific work Join Verhoeven (Josine Verhoeven), which is a scientific collaborator at the Free University of Amsterdam.

She suggests that the obtained results explain the complaints of worsening health among people who suffer from clinical depression.

Studies that were carried out before, confirmed the fact that the risk of various age-related diseases such as cancer, type II diabetes, dementia, even taking into account confounding factors related to lifestyle and General health is higher in people prone to depression. It was on this ground, the question arises about the impact of depression on the acceleration of aging processes.

The length of the telomeres was determined by the number of component blocks of DNA, called base pairs (bp). In conducting the above study, researchers found that healthy people have the length of telomeres, which averages 5,540 bp, and people who have previously suffered from depression is 5,460 bp.

The experiment in people from 18 to 65 years. Comparing the results with the previous studies, the researchers found that the length telomeres people every yearbecomes shorter than 14 bp.

The results of the study, who received at the Free University of Amsterdam, showed only an Association between depression and a reduction in the size of telomeres, but not a causal relationship.

It is quite possible that there's some other factor, such as a genetic predisposition, which is associated with shorter telomeres and increased risk of depression, say scientists.

It is also permissible that the telomeres are shortened, if the body breaks down the stress system.

The authors of the study emphasize that it remains an open question of whether the reversible aging process. Verhoeven said that in the human organism there is an enzyme called telomerase elongates telomeres by adding nucleotides to the terminal region of chromosomes, hence, it is quite possible that with lifestyle changes, may be increased telomerase activity and increase telomere length.

"Thus, for people suffering from depression, a healthy lifestyle with adequate amount of physical activity and training in particular, Smoking cessation and healthy eating can be even more important than for those who do not have depressive disorders," she said.

According to the materials: livescience.com