She also said telomere research has a higher proportion of women than other fields because in its early days, the lead researchers brought women into the field.
"We now need to know more about how early life conditions can influence the pattern of telomere loss and the relative importance of inherited and environmental factors, " she said.
The eight-week study found that people who meditated showed a 43% improvement in telomerase activity, an enzyme that regulates telomere length, compared with a 3.7% gain in the group listening to music.