Environmental Pollution Linked to Short Telomeres

April 17, 2012

Research has found that Italian women living near illegal toxic waste dumps have shorter telomeres.

Living too close to a landfill containing hazardous waste is associated with premature aging at the level of telomeres, according to a new study from University of Naples Federico II in Italy.

The length of telomeres, protective caps on the ends of chromosomes, is considered a biological marker of aging. Telomeres shorten with age and when exposed to oxidative stress, the amount of which can be raised by a number of factors including environmental pollution.

To evaluate how environmental pollution can affect telomeres, the Italian researchers evaluated blood samples of 50 pregnant women who lived in close proximity to illegal hazardous waste dumps in Italy’s Campania region.They found that the women had significantly shorter telomeres compared to women living in other areas free of the landfills. In addition, the women who lived closest to the dumps were most likely to have short telomeres.

The researchers also reported that low activity of the enzyme telomerase—necessary to maintain telomere length integrity—was detected in the pollution-exposed women as well.