Longitudinal decline of leukocyte telomere length in old age and the association with sex and genetic risk.

ABSTRACT: Telomeres are DNA-protein structures at the ends of chromosomes. Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) shortening has been associated with advanced age. However, most studies use cross-sectional data, hence, the aim of our study was to model longitudinal trajectories of LTL attrition across 20 years at old age. Assessments of LTL were done by qPCR in SATSA (Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging; N=636 individuals). Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations with age were estimated, the latter using latent growth curve analysis. A genetic risk score (GRS) for LTL was further assessed and included in the models. We confirmed an inverse cross-sectional association of LTL with age (B=-0.0022 T/S-ratio; 95% CI: -0.0035, -0.0009, p-value=0.0008). Longitudinal LTL analyses adjusted for sex (1598 samp

SUBMITTER: Berglund K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4993338 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature