ABSTRACT
Background: There is little evidence in medical students on the connection between stress and telomere length (TL), which represents cellular aging. Aim and Objective: We undertook this study to investigate the relationship between stress and cellular aging as measured by TL. Materials and Methods: After obtaining permission from the Institute Ethics Committee, apparently healthy subjects between the ages of 18 and 25 years were recruited. Subjects were excluded if they are on any medication, subjects with a history of diabetes, hypertension, endocrine disorders, kidney disease, and hypertensive patients using drugs. The study tool was the Kessler10 (K10) psychological distress instrument. TL was determined using a previously described real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction technique. Results: The mean age of the participants was 19.23 ± 1.23 years. The data were divided based on K10 scores. Comparison was made between the K10 scores less than and more than 20. No significant difference in baseline characteristics was found except height. Further, there was no correlation between height with either TL or K10 scores. We found significantly lesser TL in individuals K10 score more than 20 (P < 0.00). Conclusion: Given the high association between stress levels and TL shortening in medical students, this may contribute to premature aging as well as the process of development of several illnesses associated with short TL.