Dataset Information

Telomere Length and Vascular Phenotypes in a Population-Based Cohort of Children and Midlife Adults.

ABSTRACT: Background Telomere length has been inversely associated with cardiovascular disease in adulthood, but its relationship to preclinical cardiovascular phenotypes across the life course remains unclear. We investigated associations of telomere length with vascular structure and function in children and midlife adults. Methods and Results Population-based cross-sectional CheckPoint (Child Health CheckPoint) study of 11- to 12-year-old children and their parents, nested within the LSAC (Longitudinal Study of Australian Children). Telomere length (telomeric genomic DNA [T]/?-globin single-copy gene [S] [T/S ratio]) was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction from blood-derived genomic DNA. Vascular structure was assessed by carotid intima-media thickness, and vascular function was assessed by carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity and carotid elasticity. Mean (SD) T/S ratio was 1.09 (0.55) in children (n=1206; 51% girls) and 0.81 (0.38) in adults (n=1343; 87% women). Linear regression models, adjusted for potential confounders, revealed no evidence of an association between T/S ratio and carotid intima-media thickness, carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity, or carotid elasticity in children. In adults, longer telomeres were associated with greater carotid elasticity (0.14% per 10-mm Hg higher per unit of T/S ratio; 95% CI, 0.04%-0.2%; P=0.007), but not carotid intima-media thickness (-0.9 ?m; 95% CI, -14 to 13 ?m; P=0.9) or carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity (-0.10 m/s; 95% CI, -0.3 to 0.07 m/s; P=0.2). In logistic regression analysis, telomere length did not predict poorer vascular measures at either age. Conclusions In midlife adults, but not children, there was some evidence that telomere length was associated with vascular elasticity but not thickness. Associations between telomere length and cardiovascular phenotypes may become more evident in later life, with advancing pathological changes.

SUBMITTER: Nguyen MT

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6585377 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Telomere Length and Vascular Phenotypes in a Population-Based Cohort of Children and Midlife Adults.

Nguyen Minh Thien MT Vryer Regan R Ranganathan Sarath S Lycett Kate K Grobler Anneke A Dwyer Terence T Juonala Markus M Saffery Richard R Burgner David D Wake Melissa M

Journal of the American Heart Association 20190529 11

Background Telomere length has been inversely associated with cardiovascular disease in adulthood, but its relationship to preclinical cardiovascular phenotypes across the life course remains unclear. We investigated associations of telomere length with vascular structure and function in children and midlife adults. Methods and Results Population-based cross-sectional CheckPoint (Child Health CheckPoint) study of 11- to 12-year-old children and their parents, nested within the LSAC (Longitudinal ...[more]

PMID: 31140354

Similar Datasets

Project description:Telomere length has generated substantial interest as a potential predictor of aging-related diseases and mortality. Some studies have reported significant associations, but few have tested its ability to discriminate between decedents and survivors compared with a broad range of well-established predictors that include both biomarkers and commonly collected self-reported data. Our aim here was to quantify the prognostic value of leukocyte telomere length relative to age, sex, and 19 other variables for predicting five-year mortality among older persons in three countries. We used data from nationally representative surveys in Costa Rica (N = 923, aged 61+), Taiwan (N = 976, aged 54+), and the U.S. (N = 2672, aged 60+). Our study used a prospective cohort design with all-cause mortality during five years post-exam as the outcome. We fit Cox hazards models separately by country, and assessed the discriminatory ability of each predictor. Age was, by far, the single best predictor of all-cause mortality, whereas leukocyte telomere length was only somewhat better than random chance in terms of discriminating between decedents and survivors. After adjustment for age and sex, telomere length ranked between 15th and 17th (out of 20), and its incremental contribution was small; nine self-reported variables (e.g., mobility, global self-assessed health status, limitations with activities of daily living, smoking status), a cognitive assessment, and three biological markers (C-reactive protein, serum creatinine, and glycosylated hemoglobin) were more powerful predictors of mortality in all three countries. Results were similar for cause-specific models (i.e., mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all other causes combined). Leukocyte telomere length had a statistically discernible, but weak, association with mortality, but it did not predict survival as well as age or many other self-reported variables. Although telomere length may eventually help scientists understand aging, more powerful and more easily obtained tools are available for predicting survival.

Project description:IMPORTANCE:Telomere length has been associated with dementia and psychological stress, but its relationship with human brain size is unknown. OBJECTIVE:To determine if peripheral blood telomere length is associated with brain volume. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS:Peripheral blood leukocyte telomere length and brain volumes were measured for 1960 individuals in the Dallas Heart Study, a population-based, probability sample of Dallas County, Texas, residents, with a median (25th-75th percentile) age of 50 (42-58) years. Global and 48 regional brain volumes were assessed from the automated analysis of magnetic resonance imaging. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES:Telomere length and global and regional brain volumes. RESULTS:Leukocyte telomere length was associated with total cerebral volume (? [SE], 0.06 [0.01], P?<.001) including white and cortical gray matter volume (? [SE], 0.04 [0.01], P?=?.002; ? [SE], 0.07 [0.02], P?<.001, respectively), independent of age, sex, ethnicity, and total intracranial volume. While age was associated with the size of most subsegmental regions of the cerebral cortex, telomere length was associated with certain subsegmental regions. Compared with age, telomere length (TL) explained a sizeable proportion of the variance in volume of the hippocampus, amygdala, and inferior temporal region (hippocampus: ?TL [SE], 0.08 [0.02], R2, 0.91% vs ?age [SE], -0.16 [0.02], R2, 3.80%; amygdala: ?TL [SE], 0.08 [0.02], R2, 0.78% vs ?age [SE],-0.19 [0.02], R2,4.63%; inferior temporal: ?TL [SE], 0.07 [0.02], R2, 0.92% vs ?age [SE], -0.14 [0.02], R2, 3.98%) (P?<.001 for all). The association of telomere length and the size of the inferior and superior parietal, hippocampus, and fusiform regions was stronger in individuals older than 50 years than younger individuals (inferior parietal: ?>50 [SE], 0.13 [0.03], P?<.001 vs ??50 [SE], 0.02 [0.02], P?=?.51, P for interaction = .001; superior parietal: ?>50 [SE], 0.11 [0.03], P?<.001 vs ??50 [SE], 0.01 [0.02], P?=?.71, P for interaction = .004; hippocampus: ?>50 [SE], 0.10 [0.03], P?=?.004 vs ??50 [SE], 0.05 [0.02], P?=?.07, P for interaction = .04; fusiform: ?>50 [SE], 0.09 [0.03], P?=?.002, ??50 [SE], 0.03 [0.02], P?=?.31, P for interaction = .03). The volume of the hippocampus, amygdala, superior and inferior temporal, precuneus, lateral orbitofrontal, posterior cingulate, thalamus and ventral diencephalon were independently associated with telomere length after adjustment for all covariates (age, gender, ethnicity, total intracranial volume, body mass index, blood pressure, diabetes, smoking status, and APOE genotype). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE:To our knowledge, this is the first population-based study to date to evaluate telomere length as an independent predictor of global and regional brain size. Future studies are needed to determine how telomere length and anatomic structural changes are related to cognitive function, dementia, and psychological disease.

Dataset Information

Telomere Length and Vascular Phenotypes in a Population-Based Cohort of Children and Midlife Adults.

Publications

Telomere Length and Vascular Phenotypes in a Population-Based Cohort of Children and Midlife Adults.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure