Dataset Information

Body mass index is negatively associated with telomere length: a collaborative cross-sectional meta-analysis of 87 observational studies.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Even before the onset of age-related diseases, obesity might be a contributing factor to the cumulative burden of oxidative stress and chronic inflammation throughout the life course. Obesity may therefore contribute to accelerated shortening of telomeres. Consequently, obese persons are more likely to have shorter telomeres, but the association between body mass index (BMI) and leukocyte telomere length (TL) might differ across the life span and between ethnicities and sexes.

Objective

A collaborative cross-sectional meta-analysis of observational studies was conducted to investigate the associations between BMI and TL across the life span.

Design

Eighty-seven distinct study samples were included in the meta-analysis capturing data from 146,114 individuals. Study-specific age- and sex-adjusted regression coefficients were combined by using a random-effects model in which absolute [base pairs (bp)] and relative telomere to single-copy gene ratio (T/S ratio) TLs were regressed against BMI. Stratified analysis was performed by 3 age categories ("young": 18-60 y; "middle": 61-75 y; and "old": >75 y), sex, and ethnicity.

Results

Each unit increase in BMI corresponded to a -3.99 bp (95% CI: -5.17, -2.81 bp) difference in TL in the total pooled sample; among young adults, each unit increase in BMI corresponded to a -7.67 bp (95% CI: -10.03, -5.31 bp) difference. Each unit increase in BMI corresponded to a -1.58 × 10(-3) unit T/S ratio (0.16% decrease; 95% CI: -2.14 × 10(-3), -1.01 × 10(-3)) difference in age- and sex-adjusted relative TL in the total pooled sample; among young adults, each unit increase in BMI corresponded to a -2.58 × 10(-3) unit T/S ratio (0.26% decrease; 95% CI: -3.92 × 10(-3), -1.25 × 10(-3)). The associations were predominantly for the white pooled population. No sex differences were observed.

Conclusions

A higher BMI is associated with shorter telomeres, especially in younger individuals. The presently observed difference is not negligible. Meta-analyses of longitudinal studies evaluating change in body weight alongside change in TL are warranted.

SUBMITTER: Gielen M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6454526 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Body mass index is negatively associated with telomere length: a collaborative cross-sectional meta-analysis of 87 observational studies.

Gielen Marij M Hageman Geja J GJ Antoniou Evangelia E EE Nordfjall Katarina K Mangino Massimo M Balasubramanyam Muthuswamy M de Meyer Tim T Hendricks Audrey E AE Giltay Erik J EJ Hunt Steven C SC Nettleton Jennifer A JA Salpea Klelia D KD Diaz Vanessa A VA Farzaneh-Far Ramin R Atzmon Gil G Harris Sarah E SE Hou Lifang L Gilley David D Hovatta Iiris I Kark Jeremy D JD Nassar Hisham H Kurz David J DJ Mather Karen A KA Willeit Peter P Zheng Yun-Ling YL Pavanello Sofia S Demerath Ellen W EW Rode Line L Bunout Daniel D Steptoe Andrew A Boardman Lisa L Marti Amelia A Needham Belinda B Zheng Wei W Ramsey-Goldman Rosalind R Pellatt Andrew J AJ Kaprio Jaakko J Hofmann Jonathan N JN Gieger Christian C Paolisso Giuseppe G Hjelmborg Jacob B H JBH Mirabello Lisa L Seeman Teresa T Wong Jason J van der Harst Pim P Broer Linda L Kronenberg Florian F Kollerits Barbara B Strandberg Timo T Eisenberg Dan T A DTA Duggan Catherine C Verhoeven Josine E JE Schaakxs Roxanne R Zannolli Raffaela R Dos Reis Rosana M R RMR Charchar Fadi J FJ Tomaszewski Maciej M Mons Ute U Demuth Ilja I Iglesias Molli Andrea Elena AE Cheng Guo G Krasnienkov Dmytro D D'Antono Bianca B Kasielski Marek M McDonnell Barry J BJ Ebstein Richard Paul RP Sundquist Kristina K Pare Guillaume G Chong Michael M Zeegers Maurice P MP

The American journal of clinical nutrition 20180901 3

<h4>Background</h4>Even before the onset of age-related diseases, obesity might be a contributing factor to the cumulative burden of oxidative stress and chronic inflammation throughout the life course. Obesity may therefore contribute to accelerated shortening of telomeres. Consequently, obese persons are more likely to have shorter telomeres, but the association between body mass index (BMI) and leukocyte telomere length (TL) might differ across the life span and between ethnicities and sexes. ...[more]

PMID: 30535086

Similar Datasets

Project description:IntroductionStatins are widely used to inhibit cholesterol production in the liver among people with hypercholesterolemia. A recent epidemiological study in the UK has shown that statin use (unlike elevated BMI) is not associated with an increased risk of Achilles tendon rupture. However, because of laboratory reports suggesting a negative influence of statins on tenocyte metabolism, we decided to directly compare the Achilles tendon structure (cross-sectional area and longitudinal collagen organization) in regular statin users compared to non-users.MethodsWe conducted ultrasound tissue characterization (UTC) of the Achilles tendon in statin users and a comparison group of similar age and gender. Statin users and control participants were recruited from May 10 2015 to February 17 2017 through a cardiovascular health centre and from the general community. Cross-sectional area of the Achilles tendon and longitudinal collagen organization (% type I echoes) were assessed using quantitative ultrasound tissue characterization by a blinded observer at a predetermined location (2 cm proximal to the calcaneus).ResultsSixty-six individuals who were either taking statins for at least one year (ST, n = 33) or a comparison group who had never taken statins (CG, n = 33) were included in the study. The Achilles tendon cross-sectional area (ST 59.7 (13) mm2, CG 59.9 (8.5) mm2) and proportion of echo-type I patterns [ST 70 (10)%, CG 74 (13)%] were equivalent in the two groups. In contrast, there was a negative correlation between BMI (rs = -0.25, p = 0.042) and type I echo values. Obese individuals demonstrated a significantly lower percentage of type I echoes (62 (11)%) than individuals of normal body mass index (73 (10)% p<0.05).ConclusionThese findings demonstrate that there is no evidence of a negative statin influence on Achilles tendon structure. Given earlier reports that the risk of Achilles injury is equivalent in statin users and non-users, weightbearing exercise may be prescribed without placing the Achilles tendon at a higher risk of injury than among the general population. The results of this study are consistent with the known negative effects of elevated BMI on tendon structure, suggesting that an assessment of the Achilles tendons prior to prescribing weightbearing exercise may be prudent in obese individuals.

Project description:ImportanceBody mass index (BMI) is used to diagnose obesity in adolescents worldwide, despite evidence that weight does not scale with height squared in adolescents. To account for this, health care providers diagnose obesity using BMI percentiles for each age (BMI z scores), but this does not ensure that BMI is accurate in adolescents.ObjectiveTo compare the accuracy of BMI vs other body fat indices of the form body mass divided by heightn in estimating body fat levels in adolescents.Design, setting, and participantsCross-sectional data from the 1999 to 2006 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed between September 2015 and December 2016.Main outcomes and measuresDual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and anthropometric data were used to determine changes in body fat levels, body proportions, and the scaling relationships among body mass, height, and percent body fat. To assess the merits of each adiposity index, 3 criteria were used: stability with age, accuracy in estimating percent body fat, and accuracy in classifying adolescents as overweight vs normal weight.ResultsParticipants included 2285 non-Hispanic white participants aged 8 to 29 years. Percent body fat varied with both age and height during adolescence, invalidating the standard weight-to-height regression as the way of finding the optimal body fat index. Because the correct regression model (percent body fat is proportional to mass divided by heightn) suggested that percent body fat scales to height with an exponent closer to 3, we therefore focused on the tri-ponderal mass index (TMI; mass divided by height cubed) as an alternative to BMI z scores. For ages 8 to 17 years, TMI yielded greater stability with age and estimated percent body fat better than BMI (R2?=?0.64 vs 0.38 in boys and R2?=?0.72 vs 0.66 in girls). Moreover, TMI misclassified adolescents as overweight vs normal weight less often than BMI z scores (TMI, 8.4%; 95% CI, 7.3%-9.5% vs BMI, 19.4%; 95% CI, 17.8%-20.0%; P?<?.001) and performed equally as well as updated BMI percentiles derived from the same data set (TMI, 8.4%; 95% CI, 7.3%-9.5% vs BMI, 8.0%; 95% CI, 6.9%-9.1%; P?=?.62).Conclusions and relevanceThe tri-ponderal mass index estimates body fat levels more accurately than BMI in non-Hispanic white adolescents aged 8 to 17 years. Moreover, TMI diagnoses adolescents as overweight more accurately than BMI z scores and equally as well as updated BMI percentiles but is much simpler to use than either because it does not involve complicated percentiles. Taken together, it is worth considering replacing BMI z scores with TMI to estimate body fat levels in adolescents.

Project description:BackgroundThe accumulation of disparate diseases in complex multimorbidity makes prevention difficult if each disease is targeted separately. We aimed to examine obesity as a shared risk factor for common diseases, determine associations between obesity-related diseases, and examine the role of obesity in the development of complex multimorbidity (four or more comorbid diseases).MethodsWe did an observational study and used pooled prospective data from two Finnish cohort studies (the Health and Social Support Study and the Finnish Public Sector Study) comprising 114 657 adults aged 16-78 years at study entry (1998-2013). A cohort of 499 357 adults (aged 38-73 years at study entry; 2006-10) from the UK Biobank provided replication in an independent population. BMI and clinical characteristics were assessed at baseline. BMIs were categorised as obesity (≥30·0 kg/m2), overweight (25·0-29·9 kg/m2), healthy weight (18·5-24·9 kg/m2), and underweight (<18·5 kg/m2). Via linkage to national health records, participants were followed-up for death and diseases diagnosed according to the International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD-10). Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs and population attributable fractions (PAFs) for associations between BMI and multimorbidity were calculated.FindingsMean follow-up duration was 12·1 years (SD 3·8) in the Finnish cohorts and 11·8 years (1·7) in the UK Biobank cohort. Obesity was associated with 21 non-overlapping cardiometabolic, digestive, respiratory, neurological, musculoskeletal, and infectious diseases after Bonferroni multiple testing adjustment and ignoring HRs of less than 1·50. Compared with healthy weight, the confounder-adjusted HR for obesity was 2·83 (95% CI 2·74-2·93; PAF 19·9% [95% CI 19·3-20·5]) for developing at least one obesity-related disease, 5·17 (4·84-5·53; 34·4% [33·2-35·5]) for two diseases, and 12·39 (9·26-16·58; 55·2% [50·9-57·5]) for complex multimorbidity. The proportion of participants of healthy weight with complex multimorbidity by age 75 years was observed by age 55 years in participants with obesity, and degree of obesity was associated with complex multimorbidity in a dose-response relationship. Compared with obesity, the association between overweight and complex multimorbidity was more modest (HR 2·67, 95% CI 1·94-3·68; PAF 13·3% [95% CI 9·6-16·3]). The same pattern of results was observed in the UK Biobank cohort.InterpretationObesity is associated with diverse, increasing disease burdens, and might represent an important target for multimorbidity prevention that avoids the complexities of multitarget preventive regimens.FundingWellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, National Institute on Aging.

Dataset Information

Body mass index is negatively associated with telomere length: a collaborative cross-sectional meta-analysis of 87 observational studies.

Background

Objective

Design

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Body mass index is negatively associated with telomere length: a collaborative cross-sectional meta-analysis of 87 observational studies.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure