The interactive impact of psychological stress and malnutrition on genome stability and telomere integrity in Carers (Telomeres, stress and nutrition).

Not Applicable

• Conditions: The molecular impact of psychological stress; DNA damage and telomere instability; Association of nutritional biomarkers with stress and DNA stability.; Diet and Nutrition - Other diet and nutrition disorders; Other - Research that is not of generic health relevance and not applicable to specific health categories listed above

• Registration Number: ACTRN12613000524796
• Lead Sponsor: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Preventative Health Flagship

Brief Summary

Not available

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Results First Posted: 1900-01-01
• Study Start: 2013-05-13
• Last Update Posted: 13 January 2020

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: ot yet recruiting
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 100

Inclusion Criteria

Inclusion criteria - Carers: Primary carer of a person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD); =1 year since partner’s AD diagnosis; Male or female; Aged 65-90 years

Inclusion criteria - Control Group: Male or female; Aged 65-90 years.

Exclusion Criteria

Exclusion criteria - Carers: Diagnosed with a neurodegenerative condition, cognitive impairment or chronic illness requiring ongoing medical treatment; Undergoing chemotherapy/radiotherapy for cancer treatment; Supplementing with above RDI intakes of micronutrients associated with genome maintenance (eg. folate, vitamin B12); Consuming more than 3 standard alcoholic drinks/day; Smoker (5 or more cigarettes/day).

Exclusion criteria - Control Group: Carer for a family member with a serious chronic illness/condition, living in the home; Diagnosed with a neurodegenerative condition, cognitive impairment or chronic illness requiring ongoing medical treatment; Undergoing chemotherapy/radiotherapy for cancer treatment; Supplementing with above RDI intakes of micronutrients associated with genome maintenance (eg. folate, vitamin B12); Consuming more than 3 standard alcoholic drinks/day; Smoker (5 or more cigarettes/day).

Study & Design

• Study Type: Observational
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Telomere length (TL) will be determined by flow cytometry, in primary leukocytes isolated from whole blood by gradient separation. TL will be measured in viable cells at G1 stage of the cell cycle.[Leukocytes will be isolated immediately upon blood collection, and viably frozen prior to TL measures being conducted.]