The Effects of Exercise on Telomere Length in Persons With Heart Failure.
Brittany Butts, Chloe Hope, Christopher Herring and 2 others
PMID 37801568WHAT IT FOUND
In 32 people with heart failure, a 3-month home walking program was linked to longer telomere length, a cellular aging marker, and lower IL-1β than control.
The small secondary analysis reported these laboratory findings.
Key findings
01At 3 months, total telomere length was higher in the exercise group than in the attention control group (10.38 ± 1.2 kb vs 7.96 ± 2.6 kb/chromosome end).
02Plasma IL-1β was lower in the exercise group than in the attention control group at 3 months (1.31 ± 0.6 pg/mL vs 1.75 ± 0.4 pg/mL).
03In the exercise group, total telomere length increased from baseline to 3 months (9.29 ± 1.2 vs 10.38 ± 1.2 kb/chromosome end).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial and was not powered or designed for telomere analyses. The genomic analysis included 32 participants with available data (17 exercise, 15 attention control), and the authors state it is not generalizable to the broader heart failure population. The exercise group had a higher proportion with a history of dyslipidemia than the attention control group (71% vs 27%; p=.032). Most participants (69%) had LVEF ≤ 40%, higher than the approximately 50% of the heart failure population living with HFrEF. Telomerase activity could not be examined in stored samples. The study examined peripheral white blood cells, so the interpretation does not extend to other cell types. Psychosocial stress and related measures were not available because the analysis used stored samples and previously collected data. The assay gave absolute telomere length using a known reference sample; other studies have used different approaches, making direct comparisons difficult.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The supplied publication types list NIH extramural research support, but the text does not state the funder's role.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the longer telomere length and lower IL-1β as proof that exercise improves heart failure outcomes. This was a small secondary analysis of 32 participants with available genomic data, not powered or designed for telomere analyses, and the measured outcomes were laboratory markers.