A Mendelian randomization study of telomere length and blood-cell traits.

ABSTRACT: Whether telomere attrition reducing proliferative reserve in blood-cell progenitors is causal has important public-health implications. Mendelian randomization (MR) is an analytic technique using germline genetic variants as instrumental variables. If certain assumptions are met, estimates from MR should be free from most environmental sources of confounding and reverse causation. Here, two-sample MR is performed to test whether longer telomeres cause changes to hematological traits. Summary statistics for genetic variants strongly associated with telomere length were extracted from a genome-wide association (GWA) study for telomere length in individuals of European ancestry (n = 9190) and from GWA studies of blood-cell traits, also in those of European ancestry (n ~ 173,000 participants).

SUBMITTER: Adams CD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7376238 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature