Telomere length of patients with major depression is shortened but independent from therapy and severity of the disease
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Shortened telomere length has been observed in a variety of diseases. Our objective was to analyze mean telomere length of patients with major depressive disorder. A key question was whether telomere length varies in different groups of depressive patients. METHODS: We obtained blood samples from patients with major depressive disorder (n = 54) and healthy subjects (n = 20). We isolated genomic DNA and measured mean telomere length using telomere restriction fragments and Southern blotting. We grouped patients according to the therapy they received including total antidepressant dose. RESULTS: Mean telomere length of the entire patient group (7.20 ± 0.61 kb) was significantly shorter than in the control group (7.55 ± 0.54 kb). We observed no significant difference in telomere length among the different patient groups, but each of these patient groups had significantly shorter telomeres than the healthy subjects. Further analysis revealed no significant association between telomere length and illness duration and between telomere length and the severity of depression, as determined by the Hamilton score. CONCLUSION: These results provide further evidence that major depressive disorder is associated with shortened telomeres. However, differences in the applied therapy, the duration of illness, or the severity of depression do not seem to have any influence on telomere length.
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Of the 11 MDD studies, seven found significantly shorter LTL in currently depressed individuals (or in individuals with mixed mood disorders including MDD) compared to controls, while four did not.
“Of these, seven found significantly shorter LTL in currently depressed individuals (or in individuals with mixed mood disorders including MDD) compared to controls (Garcia-Rizo et al., 2013; Hartmann et al., 2010; Hoen et al., 2011; Lung et al., 2007; Simon et al., 2006; Verhoeven et al., 2014a; Wikgren et al., 2012b), while four did not (Needham et al., 2014; Schaakxs et al., 2015; Teyssier et al”
From Psychiatric disorders and leukocyte telomere length: Underlying mechanisms linking mental illness with cellular aging (2015) · cites this paper as Hartmann et al., 2010
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- Authors
- Hartmann, N., Boehner, M., Groenen, F., & Kalb, R.
- Affiliations
- Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) (DE)
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Hartmann, Nils
- ORCID
- Hartmann, Nils
- Venue
- Depression and Anxiety
- Publisher
- Hindawi Limited
- Published
- 2010-11-04
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1111-1116
- ISSN
- 1091-4269 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2032358622
- Cited by
- 156
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 16
- FWCI
- 8.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Depression and Anxiety (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Telomeres, Telomerase, and Senescence
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- telomere length, major depressive disorder, telomere shortening, antidepressant treatment, disease duration, depression severity, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, blood DNA, telomere restriction fragments
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Antidepressive Agents, Combined Modality Therapy, Major Depressive Disorder, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Electroconvulsive Therapy, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Reference Values, Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length, Blotting, Southern, Telomere, Young Adult
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