Differential effects of endurance, interval, and resistance training on telomerase activity and telomere length in a randomized, controlled study.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Individual randomized controlled trial in humans
PubMed 30496493 · doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehy585
What was done
Researchers randomized 124 healthy, previously inactive adults into four parallel groups for 6 months: aerobic endurance training (AET, continuous running), high-intensity interval training (IT, 4x4 method), resistance training (RT, circuit training on 8 devices), or an inactive control group. All exercise interventions consisted of three 45-minute sessions per week. Outcomes assessed included VO2max, telomerase activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, telomere length in lymphocytes, granulocytes, and total leukocytes, and acute telomerase activation in CD14+ and CD34+ leukocytes following a single exercise bout.
What was found
Maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) increased across all three exercise modalities. Telomerase activity in mononuclear cells increased by 2- to 3-fold in the AET and IT groups, with no significant increase observed in the RT group. Telomere length across lymphocytes, granulocytes, and leukocytes increased in both endurance groups (AET and IT) but not with RT. Acute single-bout testing showed endurance exercise, but not resistance exercise, elevated telomerase activity in CD14+ and CD34+ leukocytes. Absolute numbers, confidence intervals, and p-values were not provided in the abstract.
Why it matters
This study shows that cellular anti-aging pathways respond selectively to exercise modality, indicating that endurance and interval training induce cellular telomere maintenance pathways that resistance training does not.
Limits
The abstract reports no exact numerical changes or confidence intervals for telomere length. The study was conducted in healthy, previously inactive adults over 6 months, so findings may not generalize to trained athletes or clinical populations, nor can long-term clinical hard endpoints be determined from these cellular markers alone. The sample size is modest (~31 participants per arm).
Cited by
- supports Randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses show that aerobic training increases telomerase activity and increases telomere length in blood cells.
- supports Resistance training alone does not produce significant increases in telomerase activity or telomere length.