A Prospective Study Investigating Prediagnostic Leukocyte Telomere Length and Risk of Developing Rheumatoid Arthritis in Women.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To prospectively examine the association between leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and subsequent rheumatoid arthritis (RA) development in women.

Methods

Using a case-control design nested within the prospective Nurses' Health Study (NHS), NHS II (NHSII), and Women's Health Study (WHS), each validated case of RA with a prediagnostic blood sample was matched to 3 controls by cohort, age, menopausal status, postmenopausal hormone therapy, and blood collection covariates. We measured telomere length in genomic DNA extracted from stored buffy coat samples using quantitative PCR. We used unconditional logistic regression to determine OR and 95% CI, and random-effects metaanalysis to combine study results.

Results

In total, we analyzed 296 incident RA cases and 827

SUBMITTER: Prescott J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4738071 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature