Children suffer DNA damage from stress

Subject: Children suffer DNA damage from stress Wed Apr 09, 2014 2:49 am

Children who grow up in poverty or an unstable family show early signs of genetic ageing that may make them more vulnerable to certain diseases, a study has found.

Children suffer DNA damage from stress Mb_narrow_dna-20140408192233153701-300x0

Children suffer DNA damage from stress Mb_narrow_dna-20140408192233153701-300x0

Telomeres, the protective caps that prevent the ends of chromosomes from unravelling over time, were shorter in children who had a severely disadvantaged upbringing compared with children from privileged backgrounds.

The research highlights the effect a stressful environment can have on health from a young age.

While it is well known that chronic stress has negative health effects, the exact mechanism remains elusive, although shortened telomeres are thought to be a ''biomarker'' of the effect of stress on the body.

The ends of telomeres shrink each time a cell divides, a sacrifice that protects the genetic information at the ends of chromosomes. But when telomeres get too short, cells can no longer divide, and die. Many age-related diseases including cancer have been linked to shortened telomeres.

US researchers studied 40 African American boys and found, by the time they were nine, the telomeres of the children who grew up in a harsh home environment were almost 20 per cent shorter than those from advantaged backgrounds.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/children-suffer-dna-damage-from-stress-20140408-36b8t.html#ixzz2yMxbEBNW

Children suffer DNA damage from stress

Children suffer DNA damage from stress

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