A claim you hear on longevity podcasts
The claim checked: Meditation raises telomerase, the enzyme that rebuilds telomeres Hear it at 17:48
Five of ten studies found meditation raised telomerase activity; in the other five the rise was small, seen in both groups, or not statistically clear.
Computed from 10 studies that test this point, each judged by two readers, in full. 7 more studies are waiting for a full read and do not count yet.
“it's been shown that meditation meaning you know not being so stressed taking some time to be mindful has been been able to increase the expression of a gene that encodes an enzyme called toras and this enzyme is able to rebuild your lost ters that you've you've lost with age”
controlled trial · 2013
“The meditation group showed 43% improvement in telomerase activity compared to 3.7% in the relaxation group (p=0.05).”
A pilot study of yogic meditation for family dementia caregivers with depressive symptoms: effects on mental health, cognition, and telomerase activity. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry
Who: family dementia caregivers with mild depressive symptoms, mean age 60.3
PMID 22407663
trial or observed group · 2017
“The mean levels of 8-OH2dG and ROS were significantly lower and mean levels of TAC and telomerase activity were significantly increased (all values p < 0.05).”
Impact of Yoga and Meditation on Cellular Aging in Apparently Healthy Individuals: A Prospective, Open-Label Single-Arm Exploratory Study. Oxid Med Cell Longev
Who: Apparently healthy adults aged 30-65 leading an unhealthy modern lifestyle, India
PMID 28191278
controlled trial · 2014
“In analyses adjusted for baseline TA and psychological status, TA increased steadily over 12 weeks in the MBSR(BC) group (approximately 17%) compared to essentially no increase in the control group (approximately 3%, p < .01).”
Influence of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on telomerase activity in women with breast cancer (BC). Biol Res Nurs
Who: 142 women with stage 0-III breast cancer (mean age 55.3) who had finished adjuvant treatment, Tampa, Florida
PMID 24486564
other primary study · 2021
“The telomerase activity ( Fig. 3 ) appeared to increase during the RR sessions (p < 0.01 Wilcoxon test at every time point) both in patients and in healthy volunteers.”
Rapid changes of miRNAs-20, -30, -410, -515, -134, and -183 and telomerase with psychological activity: A one year study on the relaxation response and epistemological considerations. J Tradit Complement Med
Who: 90 patients after myocardial infarction (30 meditation, 30 music, 30 no intervention) plus 30 healthy volunteers (15 meditation, 15 music), Padua, Italy
PMID 34522635
pooled analysis · 2022
“The findings also indicate that MBIs impact telomere length and telomerase activity.”
The effect of mindfulness-based interventions on immunity-related biomarkers: a comprehensive meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Clin Psychol Rev
Who: participants in RCTs of mindfulness-based interventions, clinical and non-clinical samples
PMID 35078038
controlled trial · 2012
“While there was no clear effect of the intervention on telomerase activity, there was a striking pattern of correlations between improvements in psychological distress, eating behavior, and metabolic health and increases in telomerase activity.”
Changes in stress, eating, and metabolic factors are related to changes in telomerase activity in a randomized mindfulness intervention pilot study. Psychoneuroendocrinology
Who: 47 overweight/obese premenopausal women with no prior meditation, randomized to mindfulness program vs waitlist
PMID 22169588
controlled trial · 2018
“Changes in TL and TA were not significant either within or between groups.”
Effects of Meditation and Music-Listening on Blood Biomarkers of Cellular Aging and Alzheimer's Disease in Adults with Subjective Cognitive Decline: An Exploratory Randomized Clinical Trial. J Alzheimers Dis
Who: Adults aged 50-84 (mean 60.5, 87% female) with subjective cognitive decline, West Virginia
PMID 30320574
controlled trial · 2015
“The telomerase gene expression results showed significant within-group changes in both the SR and EHE groups ( Table 3 ) (Figs 2 and 3 ).”
Effects of Lifestyle Modification on Telomerase Gene Expression in Hypertensive Patients: A Pilot Trial of Stress Reduction and Health Education Programs in African Americans. PLoS One
Who: 48 African American men and women aged 40+ with stage I hypertension (volunteers from a 152-person RCT)
PMID 26571023
controlled trial · 2022
“The effect of time on TA approached significance with higher levels of TA in both groups at time 2 (F (1,15) = 3.98, p = .06, ω²= .04), and no significant group*time effects.”
Effects of meditation compared to music listening on biomarkers in breast cancer survivors with cognitive complaints: secondary outcomes of a pilot randomized control trial. Explore (NY)
Who: 25 breast cancer survivors 3 months to 6 years after chemotherapy with cognitive complaints, Central Texas; PBMCs from 19
PMID 34802955
controlled trial · 2019
“The between-group difference in telomerase activity after 22 weeks did not reach statistical significance, although telomerase activity increased in the intervention group.”
Effect of a Qigong Intervention on Telomerase Activity and Mental Health in Chinese Women Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open
Who: Chinese women aged 18+ in Hong Kong who survived intimate partner violence in the preceding 2 years
PMID 30646209
None.
None of ten studies clearly found meditation changed telomere length; nine saw small, uncertain or indirect effects, and a nine-month trial found no change.
Computed from 10 studies that test this point, each judged by two readers, in full. 10 more studies are waiting for a full read and do not count yet.
None.
trial or observed group · 2017
“The mean level of telomere length was increased but finding was not significant (p = 0.069).”
Impact of Yoga and Meditation on Cellular Aging in Apparently Healthy Individuals: A Prospective, Open-Label Single-Arm Exploratory Study. Oxid Med Cell Longev
Who: Apparently healthy adults aged 30-65 leading an unhealthy modern lifestyle, India
PMID 28191278
controlled trial · 2018
“Changes in TL and TA were not significant either within or between groups.”
Effects of Meditation and Music-Listening on Blood Biomarkers of Cellular Aging and Alzheimer's Disease in Adults with Subjective Cognitive Decline: An Exploratory Randomized Clinical Trial. J Alzheimers Dis
Who: Adults aged 50-84 (mean 60.5, 87% female) with subjective cognitive decline, West Virginia
PMID 30320574
other primary study · 2017
“Overall, there was no statistically significant change in telomere length in either study group (P = > .05).”
Effect of heartfulness meditation on burnout, emotional wellness, and telomere length in health care professionals. J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect
Who: Residents, faculty physicians and nurses at a US community teaching hospital, self-assigned to meditation or control
PMID 28634520
controlled trial · 2014
“Thus, there was no indication that participation in the MBSR(BC) program differentially influenced change in TL (Hypothesis a).”
Influence of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on telomerase activity in women with breast cancer (BC). Biol Res Nurs
Who: 142 women with Stage 0-III breast cancer who had completed adjuvant radiation and/or chemotherapy (mean age 55.3)
PMID 24486564
controlled trial · 2017
“However, the most important finding is that the telomere length remained unchanged after the 8-week treatment in both the mindfulness and the TAU group and that there was no difference between the two groups.”
Leukocyte telomere length and depression, anxiety and stress and adjustment disorders in primary health care patients. BMC Psychiatry
Who: Primary health care patients aged 20-64 with mild-to-moderate depression, anxiety or stress and adjustment disorders (Sweden), plus 320 blood-donor controls
PMID 28438147
systematic review · 2021
“The effect of meditation on TL per se is still unclear.”
The effects of meditation on length of telomeres in healthy individuals: a systematic review. Syst Rev
Who: Healthy adults: long-term meditators vs controls (case-control) and adults given 6-12 weeks of meditation training (RCTs), USA, Spain, Germany
PMID 34020720
controlled trial · 2013
“ANCOVA controlling for age revealed a significant increase in telomerase activity from baseline to post-intervention in the meditation group versus the relaxation group (F(1,33) = 2.75, p=0.05; Table 2).”
A pilot study of yogic meditation for family dementia caregivers with depressive symptoms: effects on mental health, cognition, and telomerase activity. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry
Who: 39 family dementia caregivers with mild depressive symptoms, mean age 60.3 y
PMID 22407663
controlled trial · 2012
“While there was no clear effect of the intervention on telomerase activity, there was a striking pattern of correlations between improvements in psychological distress, eating behavior, and metabolic health and increases in telomerase activity.”
Changes in stress, eating, and metabolic factors are related to changes in telomerase activity in a randomized mindfulness intervention pilot study. Psychoneuroendocrinology
Who: 47 overweight/obese premenopausal women (BMI 25-40), meditation-naive, randomised to mindfulness intervention or waitlist
PMID 22169588
pooled analysis · 2022
“The findings also indicate that MBIs impact telomere length and telomerase activity.”
The effect of mindfulness-based interventions on immunity-related biomarkers: a comprehensive meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Clin Psychol Rev
Who: participants in RCTs of mindfulness-based interventions, clinical and non-clinical samples
PMID 35078038
controlled trial · 2019
“In contrast to our hypotheses and some earlier reports, LTL of healthy adults was not influenced through contemplative mental training over 9 months.”
Association of Short-term Change in Leukocyte Telomere Length With Cortical Thickness and Outcomes of Mental Training Among Healthy Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open
Who: healthy adults aged 20-55 (mean 40.5, 175 women) in the ReSource Project, randomized to retest control or mental training cohorts
PMID 31553468
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