Controlling for baseline telomere length biases estimates of the rate of telomere attrition.

ABSTRACT: Longitudinal studies have sought to establish whether environmental exposures such as smoking accelerate the attrition of individuals' telomeres over time. These studies typically control for baseline telomere length (TL) by including it as a covariate in statistical models. However, baseline TL also differs between smokers and non-smokers, and telomere attrition is spuriously linked to baseline TL via measurement error and regression to the mean. Using simulated datasets, we show that controlling for baseline TL overestimates the true effect of smoking on telomere attrition. This bias increases with increasing telomere measurement error and increasing difference in baseline TL between smokers and non-smokers. Using a meta-analysis of longitudinal datasets, we show that as predicted, the e

SUBMITTER: Bateson M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6837209 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature