Is Job Stress Aging You Faster?
T.G.I.M.—Thank Goodness It’s Monday. Now, that’s something you don’t hear very often. For most people, the start of a new week means returning to the daily grind: work, stress, and exhaustion. Now research shows that work-related exhaustion hurts you more than you think—it can actually shorten the length of telomeres, which speeds up aging.
The study, published in PLoS One, used data from the Health 2000 Studyand consisted of 2,911 Finnish men and women aged 30-64. Results showed that 18 percent of subjects had mild work-related exhaustion while 5 percent had severe work-related exhaustion. Interestingly, severe exhaustion was most common among female, unmarried, manual laborers, and ill workers.
Work-related exhaustion was assessed using a reliable and valid measure of occupational burnout. The average summary score was calculated as no exhaustion, mild exhaustion, or severe exhaustion.
Comparing telomere length to the results of the work-related exhaustion survey showed that those with severe exhaustion had significantly shorter telomeres than those with mild or no exhaustion. The results remained significant even after adjustment for marital status, occupation type, daily smoking, body mass index (BMI), physical illness, and common mental disorders.
Telomeres protect the genetic information within cells by acting as caps at chromosomal ends. Over time, telomeres gradually shorten leading to DNA damage and cell death. Because of this relationship, the length of telomeres can serve as a biomarker for biological age.
Similar to previous research, this study suggested that age, sex, and BMI are related to telomere length. Also, men, older people, and obese people had shorter white blood cell (leukocyte) telomeres than others.
General recommendations to protect DNA are to exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet, and avoid smoking. Now, add to the list adopting a stress-free work environment. For most people, that is easier said than done.
Reference: Ahola K, Siren I, Kivimaki M et al. Work-related exhaustion and telomere length: a population-based study. PLoS One 2012;7:e40186. Doi: 10.137/journal/pone.0040186
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