“Know Your Telomeres” is an important research study being conducted at the Parnassus UCSF Campus. The study seeks to learn more about telomere length and other markers of aging, how we can best measure these markers, how they are related to health and lifestyle, and how people respond to learning their own personal telomere length results.

We are looking for non-smoking women aged 50-65 to take part in this year-long study. If you decide to participate, you will learn whether or not your telomeres are in the short category and how your telomere length changes over the course of a year.  We will ask you to complete various questionnaires, and we will collect small amounts of blood, strands of hair, and saliva. To learn more about the study, see the Study FAQ page.

Telomeres are a marker of cell aging, and short telomere length from the blood is correlated with certain diseases such as cardiovascular disease. Telomere length appears to be shortened by free radicals, psychological stress, smoking and a sedentary lifestyle. For more information about telomeres, see the What are Telomeres? page.

Enrollment in the study is now complete.