Association between telomere length and Plasmodium falciparum malaria endemicity in sub-Saharan Africans.

ABSTRACT: Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) varies significantly across human populations, with individuals of African ancestry having longer LTL than non-Africans. However, the genetic and environmental drivers of LTL variation in Africans remain largely unknown. We report here on the relationship between LTL, genetics, and a variety of environmental and climatic factors in ethnically diverse African adults (n = 1,818) originating from Botswana, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Cameroon. We observe significant variation in LTL among populations, finding that the San hunter-gatherers from Botswana have the longest leukocyte telomeres and that the Fulani pastoralists from Cameroon have the shortest telomeres. Genetic factors explain ∼50% of LTL variation among individuals. Moreover, we observe a significant neg

SUBMITTER: McQuillan MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11080607 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature