{"id":40884,"date":"2022-03-24T13:13:09","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T13:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T14:58:43","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T14:58:43","slug":"covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID, telomeres and DNA damage"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"title_text-block_623c6419c27ba\">\n          <p><em>According to a study conducted by IFOM in Milan and IGM-CNR in Pavia, the reason why older people are more susceptible to the SARS-CoV-2 virus could be linked to aging-related genetic damage<\/em><\/p>\n<p><b><i>What this article is about<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Older adults are more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection<\/li>\n<li>There appears to be a correlation between older adults&#8217; greater susceptibility to contracting COVID-19 and the shortening of chromosome telomeres<\/li>\n<li>The expression on the surface of lung cells of the ACE2 receptors, which the virus uses to infect, increases in proportion to telomere shortening<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><i>Related articles<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/why-dowe-age-identify-9-biological-causes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Why do we age? 9 biological causes discovered <\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/time-changes-us-even-in-our-dna-thats-how\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Time changes us, even in our DNA. Here is how <\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-19-5-rules-to-help-prevent-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">COVID-19, 5 rules that help prevent it<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"title_text-block_623c5db9c27b1\">\n          <p>If <strong>older adults<\/strong> are at greater risk of hospitalization for <strong>COVID-19<\/strong>, the cause could also be a typical sign of cellular <strong>aging<\/strong>: the shortening of the ends of chromosomes, the <strong>telomeres<\/strong>. These DNA \u201ccaps\u201d close off the chromosomes, protecting them, just as the little plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces keep them from fraying. But, with advancing age, telomeres become <strong>shorter<\/strong>, and this can expose the rest of the DNA to damage of various kinds. To prevent this, cells activate <strong>alarm systems<\/strong>, whose effects, however, can have repercussions on the body.   <\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class=\"wp-image-7715 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/shutterstock_1553656697.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"800\"> The ends of chromosomes are called telomeres: they are DNA \u201ccaps\u201d that serve to protect the genetic code, but they shorten with each cell replication. They are therefore an index of cellular aging <\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"title_text-block_623c5e4dc27b2\">\n          <p>For example, as argued by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.embopress.org\/doi\/full\/10.15252\/embr.202153658\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study<\/a> by researchers at IFOM in Milan and IGM-CNR in Pavia, published in the scientific journal <em>EMBO Reports<\/em>,<strong> telomere shortening or dysfunction<\/strong> may contribute to older adults&#8217; greater susceptibility to <strong>SARS-CoV-2<\/strong> infection, because it is associated with <strong>increased expression of the ACE2 receptor<\/strong> &#8211; the receptors the virus uses to enter the cell &#8211; in the lungs.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"custom_quote-block_623c5e70c27b3\" class=\"quote\">\n  <p class=\"quote\"><em>Telomeres are DNA \u201ccaps\u201d that close off chromosomes, protecting them, just as the little plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces keep them from fraying<\/em>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"title_text-block_623c5e87c27b4\">\n        <h3 class=\"article-title\">Telomeres and the ACE2 receptor <\/h3>\n          <p>The team, which has long studied the mechanisms regulating cellular aging in tumor formation, neurodegenerative diseases and other aging-related diseases, wanted to understand precisely whether there could be a <strong>correlation<\/strong> between the cellular response to telomere damage and older adults&#8217; greater susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The study showed that in human lungs <strong>ACE2<\/strong> is present particularly in type II alveolar epithelial cells, which are considered the stem cells of the lungs, and that its expression <strong>increases as they age<\/strong>. These cells are therefore probably the main target of the infection. And indeed pneumonia is the most common complication in COVID patients, particularly with the first variants of the virus.   <\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"custom_quote-block_623c5e9dc27b5\" class=\"quote\">\n  <p class=\"quote\"><em>Telomere shortening or dysfunction could contribute to older adults&#8217; greater susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection<\/em>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"title_text-block_623c5eb2c27b6\">\n          <p>The researchers noted that ACE2 on lung cells <strong>increases the more telomeres shorten<\/strong>, and its synthesis is directly influenced by the cellular signals that indicate the presence of <strong>DNA damage<\/strong>. And, in fact, if the \u201calarms\u201d triggered by the cells are interrupted, the amount of ACE2 decreases. With further experiments, the researchers then discovered that it is not telomere shortening itself that is responsible for the increase in ACE2 expression, but in general the <strong>cellular response to any DNA damage<\/strong>. Further studies will now be needed to understand why this happens.   <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7717\" src=\"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/shutterstock_1701661804.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"640\"> ACE2 receptors are used by the coronavirus as a gateway into cells. Their expression on the cell membrane increases over time and seems to go hand in hand with telomere shortening <\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"custom_quote-block_623c5f89c27b8\" class=\"quote\">\n  <p class=\"quote\"><em>What actually drives the increased expression of ACE2 receptors on lung cells would be the response to any type of DNA damage<\/em>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"title_text-block_623c5f98c27b9\">\n        <h3 class=\"article-title\">Targeted therapies for the diseases of older adults<\/h3>\n          <p>The study opens up the possibility of developing <strong>new therapies<\/strong> to protect older adults from various diseases, not only from COVID-19. Many aging-associated diseases in fact share a common component, which is precisely telomere damage, such as atherosclerosis, diabetes and osteoporosis. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"section related-news\">\n  <div id=\"relatedposts-block_5ec650d30e176\" class=\"news-row w-row\">\n      <div class=\"w-col w-col-4 w-col-stack\">\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/this-is-how-acute-inflammation-becomes-chronic\/\" class=\"news-thumbnail w-inline-block\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/POST-29-03.10.2020.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"thumbnail-img\">\n        <div class=\"thumbnail-container\">\n          <div class=\"meta\">\n          News          <\/div>\n          <h2 class=\"heading-7\">This is how acute inflammation becomes chronic<\/h2>\n          <p>At least three mechanisms are known why acute inflammation can become chronic, accelerating aging. And there are foods that can lower inflammation, but be careful of so-called &#8220;anti-inflammatory diets&#8221; that are not based on science<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"thumbnail-readmore-box\">\n          <p class=\"read-more\">Leggi l&#x27;articolo<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n      <div class=\"w-col w-col-4 w-col-stack\">\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/foods-and-diet-to-stimulate-the-sirtuins\/\" class=\"news-thumbnail w-inline-block\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/A023-1_shutterstock_1594385533.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"thumbnail-img\">\n        <div class=\"thumbnail-container\">\n          <div class=\"meta\">\n          News          <\/div>\n          <h2 class=\"heading-7\">Sirtuins: food, diets and \u201cSirt\u201d recipes<\/h2>\n          <p>Sirtuins are special proteins triggered to preserve the cell life under risky environmental conditions by pausing the cell&#8217;s most wasteful activities. This mechanism can be used to counteract aging. Can the choice of certain foods help?<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"thumbnail-readmore-box\">\n          <p class=\"read-more\">Leggi l&#x27;articolo<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n      <div class=\"w-col w-col-4 w-col-stack\">\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/long-covid-syndrome-2\/\" class=\"news-thumbnail w-inline-block\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/shutterstock_1946096182-scaled-e1631443247751.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"thumbnail-img\">\n        <div class=\"thumbnail-container\">\n          <div class=\"meta\">\n          News, Scientific study          <\/div>\n          <h2 class=\"heading-7\">Long Covid Syndrome?<\/h2>\n          <p>The one called Long Covid seems to be a real syndrome. Are there tests to measure its effects on the body? And what can we do to improve the symptoms? Today we publish the first of a series dedicated to the Long Covid in which we will deepen the diagnostic and therapeutic aspects, and the perspectives of research.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"thumbnail-readmore-box\">\n          <p class=\"read-more\">Leggi l&#x27;articolo<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to a study conducted by IFOM in Milan and IGM-CNR in Pavia, the reason why older people are more susceptible to the SARS-CoV-2 virus could be linked to aging-related genetic damage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[158,60],"tags":[160,164],"class_list":["post-40884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","category-old-posts","tag-active-ageing","tag-covid-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>COVID, Telomeres and DNA Damage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"According to a study, the reason why older people are more susceptible to COVID could be linked to genetic damage.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COVID, Telomeres and DNA Damage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"According to a study, the reason why older people are more susceptible to COVID could be linked to genetic damage.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SoLongevity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/longevita.scienza.salute.solongevity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-24T13:13:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-19T14:58:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/shutterstock_1022645374-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"valentinarachiele\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"valentinarachiele\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/longevity-news\\\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/longevity-news\\\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"valentinarachiele\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5c1f5b6d2b161ea2370ce61034e9b1d4\"},\"headline\":\"COVID, telomeres and DNA damage\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-24T13:13:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-19T14:58:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/longevity-news\\\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":5,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/longevity-news\\\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/11\\\/shutterstock_1022645374-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Active ageing\",\"Covid\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Old posts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/longevity-news\\\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/longevity-news\\\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\\\/\",\"name\":\"COVID, Telomeres and DNA Damage\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/longevity-news\\\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/longevity-news\\\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/11\\\/shutterstock_1022645374-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-24T13:13:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-19T14:58:43+00:00\",\"description\":\"According to a study, the reason why older people are more susceptible to COVID could be linked to genetic damage.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/longevity-news\\\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/longevity-news\\\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/longevity-news\\\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/11\\\/shutterstock_1022645374-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/11\\\/shutterstock_1022645374-1.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/longevity-news\\\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"COVID, telomeres and DNA damage\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"SoLongevity\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SoLongevity\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/11\\\/Solongevity-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/11\\\/Solongevity-logo.png\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":218,\"caption\":\"SoLongevity\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/longevita.scienza.salute.solongevity\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/solongevity\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/solongevity\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5c1f5b6d2b161ea2370ce61034e9b1d4\",\"name\":\"valentinarachiele\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/solongevity.com\\\/en\\\/longevity-news\\\/author\\\/valentinarachiele\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"COVID, Telomeres and DNA Damage","description":"According to a study, the reason why older people are more susceptible to COVID could be linked to genetic damage.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"COVID, Telomeres and DNA Damage","og_description":"According to a study, the reason why older people are more susceptible to COVID could be linked to genetic damage.","og_url":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/","og_site_name":"SoLongevity","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/longevita.scienza.salute.solongevity\/","article_published_time":"2022-03-24T13:13:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-10-19T14:58:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/shutterstock_1022645374-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"valentinarachiele","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"valentinarachiele"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/"},"author":{"name":"valentinarachiele","@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/5c1f5b6d2b161ea2370ce61034e9b1d4"},"headline":"COVID, telomeres and DNA damage","datePublished":"2022-03-24T13:13:09+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-19T14:58:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/"},"wordCount":5,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/shutterstock_1022645374-1.jpg","keywords":["Active ageing","Covid"],"articleSection":["News","Old posts"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/","url":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/","name":"COVID, Telomeres and DNA Damage","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/shutterstock_1022645374-1.jpg","datePublished":"2022-03-24T13:13:09+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-19T14:58:43+00:00","description":"According to a study, the reason why older people are more susceptible to COVID could be linked to genetic damage.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/shutterstock_1022645374-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/shutterstock_1022645374-1.jpg","width":1280,"height":720},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/covid-telomeres-and-dna-damage\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"COVID, telomeres and DNA damage"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/","name":"SoLongevity","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/#organization","name":"SoLongevity","url":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Solongevity-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Solongevity-logo.png","width":1080,"height":218,"caption":"SoLongevity"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/longevita.scienza.salute.solongevity\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solongevity\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/solongevity\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/5c1f5b6d2b161ea2370ce61034e9b1d4","name":"valentinarachiele","sameAs":["https:\/\/solongevity.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/longevity-news\/author\/valentinarachiele\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40884"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40885,"href":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40884\/revisions\/40885"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solongevity.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}