Smoking does not accelerate leucocyte telomere attrition: a meta-analysis of 18 longitudinal cohorts.

ABSTRACT: Smoking is associated with shorter leucocyte telomere length (LTL), a biomarker of increased morbidity and reduced longevity. This association is widely interpreted as evidence that smoking causes accelerated LTL attrition in adulthood, but the evidence for this is inconsistent. We analysed the association between smoking and LTL dynamics in 18 longitudinal cohorts. The dataset included data from 12 579 adults (4678 current smokers and 7901 non-smokers) over a mean follow-up interval of 8.6 years. Meta-analysis confirmed a cross-sectional difference in LTL between smokers and non-smokers, with mean LTL 84.61 bp shorter in smokers (95% CI: 22.62 to 146.61). However, LTL attrition was only 0.51 bp yr^-1 faster in smokers than in non-smokers (95% CI: -2.09 to 1.08), a difference tha

SUBMITTER: Bateson M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6599800 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature