Ageing and chronic stress have been linked to reduced telomere length (TL) in mixed‐age groups. Whether stress response components are linked to TL during the midlife‐to‐late adulthood transition remains unclear. Our study aimed to synthesise evidence on the relationship between psychological and biological components of stress response on TL in middle‐aged and older adults. We conducted a systematic review of studies obtained from six databases (PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus) and evaluated by two independent reviewers. Original research measuring psychological and biological components of stress response and TL in human individuals were included. From an initial pool of 614 studies, 15 were included (n = 9446 participants). Synthesis of evidence showed that higher psychological components of the stress response (i.e., global perceived stress or within a specific life domain and cognitive appraisal to social‐evaluative stressors) were linked to shorter TL, specifically in women or under major life stressors. For the biological stress response, cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate and IGF‐1/cortisol imbalance, IL‐6, MCP‐1, blood pressure, and heart rate presented a significant association with TL, but this relationship depended on major life stressors and the stress context (manipulated vs. non‐manipulated conditions). This comprehensive review showed that psychological and biological components of the stress response are linked to shorter TL, but mainly in women or those under a major life stressor and stress‐induced conditions. The interaction between stressor attributes and psychological and biological reactions in the transition from middle to late adulthood still needs to be fully understood, and examining it is a critical step to expanding our understanding of stress's impact on ageing trajectories.

中文翻译：

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探索从中年到成年晚期过渡过程中压力反应的心理和生物成分与端粒长度的相互作用：系统评价

衰老和慢性压力与混合年龄组的端粒长度（TL）缩短有关。中年到成年晚期过渡期间的应激反应成分是否与 TL 相关仍不清楚。我们的研究旨在综合中老年人 TL 应激反应的心理和生物成分之间关系的证据。我们对从六个数据库（PubMed、CINAHL、EMBASE、PsycINFO、Web of Science 和 Scopus）获得的研究进行了系统评价，并由两名独立评价者进行了评估。原始研究测量了人类个体应激反应和 TL 的心理和生物成分。从最初的 614 项研究中，纳入了 15 项（n= 9446 名参与者）。证据综合表明，压力反应的较高心理成分（即整体感知压力或特定生活领域内的压力以及对社会评价压力源的认知评估）与较短的 TL 相关，特别是在女性或处于主要生活压力源下的 TL。对于生物应激反应，皮质醇、硫酸脱氢表雄酮和 IGF-1/皮质醇失衡、IL-6、MCP-1、血压和心率与 TL 显着相关，但这种关系取决于主要的生活压力源和压力。上下文（操纵条件与非操纵条件）。这项综合综述表明，压力反应的心理和生物成分与较短的 TL 相关，但主要发生在女性或处于重大生活压力源和压力诱发条件下的女性。成年中后期过渡期间，压力源属性与心理和生物反应之间的相互作用仍然需要充分理解，检查它是扩大我们对压力对衰老轨迹影响的理解的关键一步。