CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 432Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsReligion, Spirituality, and PsychologyPsychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction

Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators

Jacobs, Tonya L., Epel, Elissa S., Lin, Jue, Blackburn, Elizabeth H., Wolkowitz, Owen M., Bridwell, David A., Zanesco, Anthony P., Aichele, Stephen R. +8 more·2011·Psychoneuroendocrinology
DOI 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.09.010
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Background Telomerase activity is a predictor of long-term cellular viability, which decreases with chronic psychological distress (Epel et al., 2004). Buddhist traditions claim that meditation decreases psychological distress and promotes well-being (e.g., Dalai Lama and Cutler, 2009). Therefore, we investigated the effects of a 3-month meditation retreat on telomerase activity and two major contributors to the experience of stress: Perceived Control (associated with decreased stress) and Neuroticism (associated with increased subjective distress). We used mediation models to test whether changes in Perceived Control and Neuroticism explained meditation retreat effects on telomerase activity. In addition, we investigated whether two qualities developed by meditative practice, increased Mindfulness and Purpose in Life, accounted for retreat-related changes in the two stress-related variables and in telomerase activity.Methods Retreat participants (n=30) meditated for ∼6 h daily for 3 months and were compared with a wait-list control group (n=30) matched for age, sex, body mass index, and prior meditation experience. Retreat participants received instruction in concentrative meditation techniques and complementary practices used to cultivate benevolent states of mind (Wallace, 2006). Psychological measures were assessed pre- and post-retreat. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples were collected post-retreat for telomerase activity. Because there were clear, a priori hypotheses, 1-tailed significance criteria were used throughout.Results Telomerase activity was significantly greater in retreat participants than in controls at the end of the retreat (p<0.05). Increases in Perceived Control, decreases in Neuroticism, and increases in both Mindfulness and Purpose in Life were greater in the retreat group (p<0.01). Mediation analyses indicated that the effect of the retreat on telomerase was mediated by increased Perceived Control and decreased Neuroticism. In turn, changes in Perceived Control and Neuroticism were both partially mediated by increased Mindfulness and Purpose in Life. Additionally, increases in Purpose in Life directly mediated the telomerase group difference, whereas increases in Mindfulness did not.Conclusions This is the first study to link meditation and positive psychological change with telomerase activity. Although we did not measure baseline telomerase activity, the data suggest that increases in perceived control and decreases in negative affectivity contributed to an increase in telomerase activity, with implications for telomere length and immune cell longevity. Further, Purpose in Life is influenced by meditative practice and directly affects both perceived control and negative emotionality, affecting telomerase activity directly as well as indirectly.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.09.010

Cites

115 of 115 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Meditation practice is associated with increased telomerase activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

    “A few reports demonstrated that meditation practice was associated with increased telomerase activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.33”

    From Biological mechanism study of meditation and its application in mental disorders (2020) · cites this paper as [33]

  • Several studies reported dose-response relationships, with greater improvement in mental well-being or sense of purpose in life or greater adherence to the behavioral intervention associating with larger increases in PBMC basal TA.

    “Nonetheless, several studies reported “dose-response” relationships, with greater improvement in mental well-being or sense of purpose in life or greater adherence to the behavioral intervention, associating with larger increases in PBMC basal TA (Epel, 2012; Jacobs et al., 2011).”

    From Psychiatric disorders and leukocyte telomere length: Underlying mechanisms linking mental illness with cellular aging (2015) · cites this paper as Jacobs et al., 2011

  • Jacobs et al. (2011) found that retreat participants meditating for 6 hours daily for 3 months had greater PBMC basal TA at the end of the three months than did a waitlist control group.

    “Jacobs et al., (2011) found that retreat participants, meditating for 6 hours daily for 3 months, had greater PBMC basal TA at the end of the three months than did a waitlist control group.”

    From Psychiatric disorders and leukocyte telomere length: Underlying mechanisms linking mental illness with cellular aging (2015) · cites this paper as Jacobs et al., 2011

  • In Jacobs et al. (2011), pre-test PBMC basal TA measures were not available for the meditation group, so the analyses relied on cross-sectional post-meditation data only.

    “A caveat when interpreting that study, however, is that pre-test PBMC basal TA measures were not available for the meditation group, thus the analyses relied on cross-sectional post-meditation data only (Jacobs et al., 2011).”

    From Psychiatric disorders and leukocyte telomere length: Underlying mechanisms linking mental illness with cellular aging (2015) · cites this paper as Jacobs et al., 2011

  • These studies have generally found intervention-associated increases in PBMC basal TA.

    “These studies have generally found intervention-associated increases in PBMC basal TA (Epel, 2012; Epel et al., 2009b; Epel, 2009; Jacobs et al., 2011; Lengacher et al., 2014; Ornish et al., 2008; Schutte and Malouff, 2014b; Starkweather et al., 2014).”

    From Psychiatric disorders and leukocyte telomere length: Underlying mechanisms linking mental illness with cellular aging (2015) · cites this paper as Jacobs et al., 2011

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

1 of the 116 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Jacobs, T. L., Epel, E. S., Lin, J., Blackburn, E. H., Wolkowitz, O. M., Bridwell, D. A., Zanesco, A. P., Aichele, S. R., Sahdra, B. K., MacLean, K. A., King, B. G., Shaver, P. R., Rosenberg, E. L., Ferrer, E., Wallace, B. A., & Saron, C. D.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Davis (US)
  • University of California, San Francisco (US)
  • University of California, Irvine (US)
  • Johns Hopkins University (US)
  • University of California, Santa Barbara (US)
  • University of California Davis Medical Center (US)
ORCID
Venue
Psychoneuroendocrinology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2011-06
Volume
36
Issue
5
Pages
664-681
ISSN
0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.09.010
OpenAlex
W2098489144
Cited by
432
References
116
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 41 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 37 · 2015: 37 · 2014: 39 · 2013: 39 · 2012: 24
FWCI
27.34
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Bank (Australian Catholic University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Mind and Life Institute
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
Keywords
meditation retreats, telomerase activity, perceived control, neuroticism, mindfulness, meaning of life, stress, immune cells, telomere length, Buddhist meditation, meditation training, psychological distress, negative affectivity, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, cellular aging, positive psychology interventions, concentrative meditation
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Anxiety, Female, Humans, Immune System, Male, Middle Aged, Physical Education and Training, Stress, Psychological, Treatment Outcome, Telomerase, Meditation, Young Adult

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review