Dataset Information

Newborn telomere length predicts later life telomere length: Tracking telomere length from birth to child- and adulthood.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Telomere length (TL) is considered a biological marker of aging and may indicate age-related disease susceptibility. Adults and children show a fixed ranking and tracking of TL over time. However, the contribution of an individual's initial birth TL to their later life TL is unknown. We evaluated change and tracking of TL from birth to child- and adulthood.

Methods

Telomere length at birth was measured using qPCR in two independent prospective birth cohorts. After a median follow-up period of 4 years in ENVIRONAGE (n = 273) we assessed leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and after 23 years in EFPTS (n = 164) buccal TL was assessed. Correlations and multivariable regression models were applied to study telomere tracking and determinants of TL change from birth onwards.

Findings

In children, LTL at the age of 4 correlates with TL at the start of life both in cord blood (r = 0.71, P < 0.0001;) and placenta (r = 0.60, P < 0.0001) and was -11.2% and -33.1% shorter, respectively. In adulthood, buccal TL at the age of 23 correlates with placental TL (r = 0.46, P < 0.0001) and was -35.9% shorter. TL attrition was higher in individuals with longer birth TL. However, based on TL ranking, individuals do not tend to change dramatically from TL rank after 4 or 23 years of follow-up. Finally, longer maternal TL associates with lower telomere attrition in the next generation.

Interpretation

The high prediction of newborn TL for later life TL, and stable TL ranking from birth onwards underscores the importance of understanding the initial setting of newborn TL and its significance for later life.

Funding

European Research Council (ERC-StG310898) and Flemish Scientific Fund (12X9620N).

SUBMITTER: Martens DS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7808927 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Newborn telomere length predicts later life telomere length: Tracking telomere length from birth to child- and adulthood.

Martens Dries S DS Van Der Stukken Charlotte C Derom Catherine C Thiery Evert E Bijnens Esmée M EM Nawrot Tim S TS

EBioMedicine 20210107

<h4>Background</h4>Telomere length (TL) is considered a biological marker of aging and may indicate age-related disease susceptibility. Adults and children show a fixed ranking and tracking of TL over time. However, the contribution of an individual's initial birth TL to their later life TL is unknown. We evaluated change and tracking of TL from birth to child- and adulthood.<h4>Methods</h4>Telomere length at birth was measured using qPCR in two independent prospective birth cohorts. After a med ...[more]

PMID: 33422989

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundTelomere length (TL) is a marker of biological aging and is inversely related to aging-related diseases. The setting of TL at birth may have important implications for lifelong telomere dynamics; however, its determinants remain poorly understood.ObjectivesThe purpose of our study was to explore the relationships between prenatal exposure to phthalates and umbilical cord blood TL.MethodsA total of 762 mother–newborn pairs were recruited from a birth cohort study performed between November 2013 and March 2015 in Wuhan, China. Relative cord blood TL was measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Six phthalate metabolites were measured in urine samples acquired from pregnant women during the three trimesters. Multiple informant models were applied to estimate the associations between prenatal exposure to phthalates and cord blood TL and to evaluate potential windows of vulnerability.ResultsExposure to mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP), mono(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (MECPP), mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP), mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP), mono-butyl phthalate (MBP), and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate ([Formula: see text]) during the first trimester were inversely related to cord blood TL. In addition, we observed a female-specific association between maternal exposure to MEP during the first trimester and cord blood TL ([Formula: see text]). The associations between maternal exposure to MECPP, MEHHP, MEOHP, and [Formula: see text] during the first trimester and cord blood TL were consistent between males and females (all [Formula: see text]).ConclusionThis prospective study demonstrated that prenatal exposure to some phthalate metabolites were associated with shorter cord blood TL. Our results, if confirmed in other populations, may provide more evidence of adverse health outcomes of phthalate exposure and support the hypothesis that the intrauterine environment may be one of the major determinants for newborn TL. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4492.

Dataset Information

Newborn telomere length predicts later life telomere length: Tracking telomere length from birth to child- and adulthood.

Background

Methods

Findings

Interpretation

Funding

Publications

Newborn telomere length predicts later life telomere length: Tracking telomere length from birth to child- and adulthood.

Similar Datasets

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