According to Translational Psychiatry, advanced aging and premature morbidity and mortality are associated with chronic psychological stress.
Klotho is a pleiotropic hormone and serves the following functions:
• Regulates the aging process;
• Promotes better brain and body health;
• Regulates insulin Wnt and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor signaling;
• Influences ion channel clustering and calcium homeostasis
• Promotes FGF23 activation;
• Provides protection against endothelial dysfunction;
• Suppresses oxidative damage and
• Aids in regulating inflammatory activity.
Comparably, both klotho’s and psychological stress’ negative impact on humans is unknown.
Research
To address the unidentified impact, 178 healthy women who were either chronically high-stress maternal caregivers for a child with autism spectrum disorder or low-stress control mothers of a typically developing child were recruited for procedures.
Results showed participants under high chronic stress with more depressive symptoms displayed significantly lower levels of the klotho hormone in comparison with low-stressed participants. The decrease among those under high stress was age-dependent.
Conclusion
This outcome provided the first evidence that klotho levels are sensitive to psychosocial stressors and raise the possibility that klotho may serve as a novel biological link connecting:
• Stress,
• Depression and
• Risk for accelerated disease development.
Furthermore, these findings have important implications for understanding the aging process and may represent a therapeutic treatment for the dangerous effects of chronic psychological stress on health and well-being.
