Abstract
Numerous studies have reported a significant relationship between psychological stress, depression, and telomere length (TL), an indicator of cellular lifespan. Religious involvement, which is associated with lower levels of stress and depression, has also recently been related to TL. To our knowledge, this relationship has not yet been examined in Muslims, colorectal cancer patients, cancer patients more generally, or any population outside the USA. A convenience sample of 50 colorectal patients was recruited from hospital-based oncology clinics in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Religious involvement was assessed with the 13-item Muslim Religiosity Scale. Social and psychological mediators were measured using established scales. TL was determined from whole-blood leukocytes using quantitative PCR technology. Bivariate analyses indicated a positive but nonsignificant relationship between religiosity and TL (r = 0.13, p = 0.35). Controlling for age, did not affect the relationship (B = 15.6, SE = 17.3, p = 0.37), nor did controlling for other demographic, social or psychological factors. Religious involvement was unrelated to TL in this small sample of colorectal patients. Future cross-sectional and prospective studies in different populations with larger samples are needed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Al-Ahwal, M. S., Al-Zaben, F., Sehlo, M. G., Khalifa, D. A., Al-Aama, J. Y., Edris, S., Ashy, J. A., & Koenig, H. G. (2017). Depression and telomere length in colorectal cancer patients in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology (in submission).
Al-Ahwal, M. S., Al-Zaben, F., Sehlo, M. G., Khalifa, D. A., & Koenig, H. G. (2016). Religious beliefs, practices and health in colorectal cancer patients in Saudi Arabia. Psycho-Oncology, 25(3), 292–299.
Al-Zaben, F., Khalifa, D. A., Sehlo, M. G., Al-Shohaib, S., Binzaqr, S. A., Badreg, A. M., et al. (2015a). Religious involvement and health among dialysis patients in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Religion and Health, 54(2), 713–730.
Al-Zaben, F., Sehlo, M., Khalifa, D., & Koenig, H. G. (2015b). Test–retest reliability of the Muslim religiosity scale: Follow-up to “religious involvement and health among dialysis patients in Saudi Arabia”. Journal of Religion and Health, 54(3), 1144–1147.
Barger, S. D., & Cribbet, M. R. (2016). Social support sources matter: Increased cellular aging among adults with unsupportive spouses. Biological Psychology, 115, 43–49.
Carroll, J. E., Roux, A. V. D., Fitzpatrick, A. L., & Seeman, T. (2013). Low social support is associated with shorter leukocyte telomere length in late life: Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Psychosomatic Medicine, 75(2), 171–177.
Cawthon, R. M. (2002). Telomere measurement by quantitative PCR. Nucleic Acids Research, 30, e47.
D’Mello, M. J., Ross, S. A., Briel, M., Anand, S. S., Gerstein, H., & Paré, G. (2015). Association between shortened leukocyte telomere length and cardiometabolic outcomes systematic review and meta-analysis. Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, 8(1), 82–90.
Daniali, L., Benetos, A., Susser, E., Kark, J. D., Labat, C., Kimura, M., et al. (2013). Telomeres shorten at equivalent rates in somatic tissues of adults. Nature Communications, 4, 1597.
DSM-IV. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Hamilton, M. (1967). Development of a rating scale for primary depressive illness. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 6, 278–296.
Hill, T. D., Ellison, C. G., Burdette, A. M., Taylor, J., & Friedman, K. L. (2016). Dimensions of religious involvement and leukocyte telomere length. Social Science and Medicine, 163, 168–175.
Koenig, H. G., Al-Zaben, F., Khalifa, D. A., & Al Shohaib, S. (2014). Measures of religiosity, Chapter 19. In G. J. Boyle, D. H. Saklofske, & G. Mathews (Eds.), Measures of personality and social psychological constructs (pp. 533–564). San Diego, CA: Academic Press (Elsevier).
Koenig, H. G., King, D. E., & Carson, V. B. (2012). Handbook of religion and health (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Koenig, H. G., McCullough, M. E., & Larson, D. B. (2001). Handbook of religion and health. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Koenig, H. G., Nelson, B., Shaw, S. F., Saxena, S., & Cohen, H. J. (2016a). Religious involvement and adaptation in female family caregivers. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 64(3), 578–583.
Koenig, H. G., Nelson, B., Shaw, S. F., Saxena, S., & Cohen, H. J. (2016b). Religious involvement and telomere length in women family caregivers. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 204(1), 36–42.
Koenig, H. G., Westlund, R. E., George, L. K., Hughes, D. C., Blazer, D. G., & Hybels, C. (1993). Abbreviating the Duke Social Support Index for use in chronically ill older adults. Psychosomatics, 34, 61–69.
Li, S., Stampfer, M. J., Williams, D. R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2016). Association of religious service attendance with mortality among women. Journal of the American Medical Association (Internal Medicine), 176(6), 777–785.
Ma, H., Zhou, Z., Wei, S., Liu, Z., Pooley, K. A., Dunning, A. M., et al. (2011). Shortened telomere length is associated with increased risk of cancer: A meta-analysis. PLoS ONE, 6(6), e20466.
Mathur, M. B., Epel, E., Kind, S., Desai, M., Parks, C. G., Sandler, D. P., et al. (2016). Perceived stress and telomere length: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and methodologic considerations for advancing the field. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 54, 158–169.
Muezzinler, A., Zaineddin, A. K., & Brenner, H. (2013). A systematic review of leukocyte telomere length and age in adults. Ageing Research Reviews, 12, 509–519.
Nawrot, T. S., Staessen, J. A., Gardner, J. P., & Aviv, A. (2004). Telomere length and possible link to X chromosome. Lancet, 363, 507–510.
Njajou, O. T., Cawthon, R. M., Damcott, C. M., et al. (2007). Telomere length is paternally inherited and is associated with parental lifespan. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences, 104, 12135–12139.
Nordfjall, K., Larefalk, A., Lindgren, P., Holmberg, D., & Roos, G. (2005). Telomere length and heredity: Indications of paternal inheritance. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences, 102, 16374–16378.
Révész, D., Verhoeven, J. E., Milaneschi, Y., & Penninx, B. W. (2016). Depressive and anxiety disorders and short leukocyte telomere length: Mediating effects of metabolic stress and lifestyle factors. Psychological Medicine, 46(11), 2337–2349.
Ridout, K. K., Ridout, S. J., Price, L. H., Sen, S., & Tyrka, A. R. (2016). Depression and telomere length: A meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 191, 237–247.
Sanders, J. L., & Newman, A. B. (2013). Telomere length in epidemiology: A biomarker of aging, age-related disease, both, or neither? Epidemiologic Reviews, 35(1), 112–131.
VanderWeele, T. J., Li, S., Tsai, A. C., Kawachi, I. (2016). Suicide and religious service attendance among US women. Journal of the American Medical Association (Psychiatry), 73(8), 845–851.
Zalli, A., Carvalho, L. A., Lin, J., Hamer, M., Erusalimsky, J. D., Blackburn, E. H., et al. (2014). Shorter telomeres with high telomerase activity are associated with raised allostatic load and impoverished psychosocial resources. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(12), 4519–4524.
Zhang, L., Hu, X. Z., Li, X., Li, H., Smerin, S., Russell, D., et al. (2014). Telomere length—A cellular aging marker for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Medical Hypotheses, 83(2), 182–185.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported and funded by the Colorectal Cancer Chair, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
All the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Al Ahwal, M.S., Al Zaben, F., Sehlo, M.G. et al. Religiosity and Telomere Length in Colorectal Cancer Patients in Saudi Arabia. J Relig Health 57, 672–682 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0542-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0542-6