Background: DNA methylation (DNAm) is an epigenetic process of addition or reduction of methyl groups to genes that modify gene expression and can alter the physiological response to psychological stress. DNAm associated with psychological stress is malleable, making it a prime target for psychobehavioral interventions. Research is beginning to examine changes in DNAm in response to...
Breast cancer survivors (BCS) often experience psychological and physiological symptoms after cancer treatment. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), a complementary and alternative therapy, has reduced subjective measures of stress, anxiety, and fatigue among BCS. Little is known, however, about how MBSR affects objective markers of stress, specifically the stress hormone cortisol and the...
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) reduces symptoms of depression, anxiety, and fear of recurrence among breast cancer (BC) survivors. However, the effects of MBSR (BC) on telomere length (TL) and telomerase activity (TA), known markers of cellular aging, psychological stress, and disease risk, are not known. This randomized, wait-listed, controlled study, nested within a larger trial,...