Hostility and cellular aging in men from the Whitehall II cohort

Abstract

Background: Hostility is associated with a significantly increased risk of age-related disease and mortality, yet the pathophysiological mechanisms involved remain unclear. Here we investigated the hypothesis that hostility might impact health by promoting cellular aging.

Methods: We tested the relationship between cynical hostility and two known markers of cellular aging, leukocyte telomere length (TL) and leukocyte telomerase activity (TA), in 434 men and women from the Whitehall II cohort.

Results: High-hostile men had significantly shorter leukocyte TL than their low-hostile counterparts. They also had elevated leukocyte TA, with a significantly increased likelihood of having both short TL and high TA, compared with low-hostile individuals.

Conclusions: Because telomerase is known to counteract telomere shortening by synthesizing telomeric DNA repeats, particularly in the context of shortened telomeres, heightened TA might represent a compensatory response in high-hostile individuals. The relationship between hostility and disease is stronger in men than in women, and men generally have a shorter life expectancy than women. Our findings suggest that telomere attrition might represent a novel mechanism mediating the detrimental effects of hostility on men's health.

Figure 1

Cynical hostility and telomere length. Average leukocyte telomere length (T/S ratio) is shown for men in low-, medium-, and high-hostility tertiles. Values are adjusted for age, grade of employment, body mass index, and waist. Error bars are SEM.

Figure 2

Cynical hostility and telomerase activity. Average leukocyte telomerase activity is shown for men in low-, medium-, and high-hostility tertiles. Values are adjusted for age, grade of employment, body mass index, and waist. Error bars are SEM.

Figure 3

Cynical hostility and likelihood of being in the short telomere length (TL)/high telomerase activity (TA) group. The percentage of men having both short TL and high TA is shown for individuals in low-, medium-, and high-hostility tertiles. Values are adjusted for age, grade of employment, body mass index, and waist. Error bars are SEM.