Leukocyte telomere length and physical ability among Danish Twins age 70+

Abstract

Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) shortens with age and is potentially a biomarker of human aging. We examined the relation of LTL with physical ability and cognitive function in 548 same-sex twins from the Longitudinal Study of Aging Danish Twins. LTL was measured by Southern blots of the terminal restriction fragments (TRF). Physical ability was evaluated using a self reported scale of 11 questions, while cognitive function was scored by MMSE and a cognitive composite score sensitive to age-related decline. A random intercept model revealed a positive, significant association between LTL and physical ability. For every unit increase in physical ability score, LTL increased by 0.066 kb (p=0.01), equal to approximately three years of age-dependent LTL shortening. A matched case-co-twin design showed that the group consisting of the twins from each pair with the longer LTL also displayed better physical ability (p<0.01). Moreover, the intra-pair difference in LTL was associated with intra-pair difference in physical ability (p<0.01), confirming the association. However, we found no association between cognitive function and LTL. The LTL-physical ability association in the elderly provides further support to the premise that LTL is an index of somatic fitness in the narrow context of human physical health.

Does telomere length predict decline in physical functioning in older twin sisters during an 11-year follow-up?

“…The present cross-sectional analysis showed that the participants with longer LTL had a higher level of PA. A similar relationship between LTL and PA has been reported earlier in middle-aged and older subjects (Cherkas et al 2008;Bendix et al 2011). Many studies have, however, either failed to confirm this association (Harris et al 2006b;Cassidy et al 2010) or reported an inverted U-curve association in which telomeres were longest in participants who were moderately active and shortest among those who were inactive or very active (Ludlow et al 2008).…”

Cognitive Change during the Life Course and Leukocyte Telomere Length in Late Middle-Aged Men

“…Other studies have found no correlation between LTL and cognitive function (Harris et al, 2006; Bendix et al, 2011, 2014a; Cohen-Manheim et al, 2016). Furthermore, two cohort studies have found that short LTL predicts cognitive decline (Martin-Ruiz et al, 2006; Yaffe et al, 2011).…”

Genetic and Environmental Effects on Telomere Length and Lung Function: A Twin Study

“…LTL has been shown to be associated with mortality (3,4), perceived age (5) and physical ability (6).…”