Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 23, 2026
Chronic Intermittent Ethanol Vapor Exposure Paired with Two-Bottle Choice to Model Alcohol Use Disorder
Published on: June 23, 2023
Effect of alcohol use disorder on cellular aging
Luana Martins de Carvalho1,2, Corinde E Wiers3, Peter Manza3
1National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA. luana.decarvalho@nih.gov.
Rationale:
Human telomeres consist of tandem repeats at chromosome ends which protect chromosomal DNA from degradation. Telomere shortening occurs as part of natural aging; however, life stressors, smoking, drug use, BMI, and psychiatric disorders could disrupt cell aging and affect telomere length (TL). In this context, studies have evaluated the effects of alcohol consumption on TL; however, results have been inconsistent, which may reflect diverse drinking cut-offs and categorizations.
Objectives:
To help clarify this, the present study addresses the association of TL with alcohol use disorder (AUD), drinking behaviors, lifetime stress, and chronological age.
Methods:
TL was quantified as the telomere to albumin ratio (T/S ratio) obtained from peripheral blood DNA using the quantitative PCR assay, from 260 participants with AUD and 449 non-dependent healthy controls (HC) from an existing National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) database.
Results:
AUD participants showed shorter TL compared to HC with both, age, and AUD, as independent predictors as well as a significant AUD with age interaction effect on TL. TL was also associated with impulsiveness in AUD participants. We did not observe an association between TL and chronicity of alcohol use, alcohol doses ingested, or childhood trauma exposures in either AUD or HC, although very few HC reported a history of childhood trauma.
Conclusion:
Our results support previous findings of telomere shortening with chronic alcohol exposures and show both an effect of AUD on TL that is independent of age as well as a significant AUD by age interaction on TL. These findings are consistent with accelerated cellular aging in AUD.
Related Concept Videos
02:18Intrinsically Disordered Proteins
02:37Oxidation of Alcohols
The process of oxidation in a chemical reaction is observed in any of the three forms:
01:26Aging
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
02:29Ethers from Alcohols: Alcohol Dehydration and Williamson Ether Synthesis
Ethers can be prepared from organic compounds by various methods. Some of them are discussed below,
Preparation of Ethers by Alcohol Dehydration
In this method, in the presence of protic acids, alcohol dehydrates to produce alkenes and ethers under different conditions. For example, in the presence of sulphuric acid, dehydration of ethanol at 413 K yields ethoxyethane, whereas it yields ethene at 443 K.
02:31Protection of Alcohols
Protection
It defines a protecting group as the masking agent to make the more reactive species inert to a given set of conditions. This concept is depicted via the illustration of liquid flow through different outlets in an assembly of pipes. The analogy helps to understand the role...
01:19The Effect of Aging on Tissues