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Updated: Jul 16, 2025

Telomere Length and Telomerase Activity; A Yin and Yang of Cell Senescence
Published on: May 22, 2013
Working Status of First-Time Postpartum Mothers and Telomere Length-A 1-Year Prospective Study
Nourit Houminer-Klepar1, Shiran Bord, Elissa Epel
1From the School of Public Health, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel (N.H.-K., O.B.-E.); Health Systems Management Department, The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Yezreel Valley, Israel (S.B.); Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (E.E.); Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (J.L.); and Bnei Zion Medical Center, Haifa, Israel (L.S.).
Objective:
Transitioning to motherhood can create work family conflicts affecting mothers' health. Although employment is generally associated with longer telomeres, this may diminish during the early years of child-rearing. This study aimed to assess the impact of work reentry on telomere length (TL) among first-time mothers.
Methods:
In this 1-year prospective study, a total of 103 first-time postpartum mothers participated from two medical institutions in Northern Israel; they completed validated questionnaires, reported their current working status, and provided dried blood spots measuring TL.
Results:
We found that working status significantly predicted change in TL and was negatively correlated with change in TL over time (β = -0.245; 95% confidence interval, -0.169, -0.018; P = 0.016).
Conclusions:
Identifying ideal timing of work reentry is recommended for first-time postpartum mother's optimal health and TL.
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