The Impact of Personal Telomere Testing on Distress and Health Behaviors: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Women With Short and Average Telomere Lengths

Background and Significance: Briefly sketch the scientific background leading to the present proposal, critically evaluate existing knowledge (with references), and specifically identify the gaps the project is intended to fill. State concisely the importance and health relevance of the research described in this application by relating the specific aims to the broad, long-term objectives.

Background and Rationale for Study:

There is now a comprehensive amount of data linking physical health to telomere length. Because of this, telomere length is becoming a commercially available measure. Several companies offer or plan to offer this measure; Spectracell Laboratories (www.spectracell.com) is one example of such a company. In order to have one's own telomere length measured, it's as easy as putting a zip code into a search function on their website to find the geographically closest clinician that will order the test. It is thus important to consider that there are no studies that have examined the possible responses to learning one's telomere length, whether it might be helpful or not, or even harmful. Learning about one's telomere length may motivate healthy behaviors, such as exercise or smoking cessation. The likely possibility of people learning their telomere length diagnostically in the future, and the potential for both positive and negative effects of learning this information, provide a strong rationale for studying the psychological and behavioral effects of learning one's telomere length.

Telomere length is a risk factor for disease:

Telomere length has become a valuable risk factor, as it is now linked to and predictive of many diseases and early mortality. For example, being of below average TL in a healthy population predicts threefold risk of earlier mortality in two studies. This effect size is comparable to other well accepted risk factors. Telomere shortening in these cases is likely acquired from lifetime exposures (lifestyle, cigarette smoking, infections) as well as from some presumably smaller genetic influence.