Telomere length, pre-eclampsia, and gestational diabetes

Abstract

BackgroundTelomere length is a marker of cumulative damage to the cell, and has been associated with cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes.FindingsThe association of telomere length with pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) was examined in a nested case-control study. Circulating leukocyte telomere length was measured by Quantitative-PCR. Mean and median telomere length among cases and controls was compared, and logistic regression was used to model the outcomes as a function of tertile telomere length, with control for effects of potential confounders. Mean telomere length in pre-eclampsia cases was 0.77 (SD 0.14), in GDM cases was 0.73 (SD 0.10), and in controls was 0.74 (SD 0.14). The adjusted odds ratio comparing the highest tertile to the lowest for pre-eclampsia was 0.92 (0.15-5.46), and for gestational diabetes was 0.65 (0.13-3.34).ConclusionsFurther study is necessary to determine if telomere length is associated with these pregnancy complications.

Leukocyte telomere length, lipid parameters and gestational diabetes risk: a case-control study in a Chinese population

“…Harville et al . 15 showed a trend of shorter telomeres in women with GDM, although the association was not statistically significant, which may be explained by the limited sample size, or the variability of leukocyte between individuals. Several previous studies also reported that reduced leukocyte telomere length was associated with incident diabetes risk 12,13 .…”

“…Hyperglycemia in diabetes status is known to increase oxidative stress, and then accelerates the telomere length shortening 14 . However, the studies involved in association between telomere length and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are scarce 15 .…”

Telomere length is reduced in 9- to 16-year-old girls exposed to gestational diabetes in utero

“…Additionally, pregnancies in mothers with GDM and with type 1 diabetes have been associated with increased telomerase activity in cord blood [30]. Other studies have, however, reported no association between GDM and cord blood telomere length [31] or between maternal type 1 diabetes and telomere length in young adult offspring [32]. Importantly, these studies were mainly of small sample size and, to the best of our knowledge, the effect of GDM on telomere length in adolescent offspring has not previously been reported.…”

Metformin and insulin treatment prevent placental telomere attrition in boys exposed to maternal diabetes

“…We have not shown, in this study, whether the shortened telomeres were inherited by the offspring. While some studies suggest that this is the case [16, 17], other studies find no such association [18–20]. This may be due to the technical challenges imposed by the use of leukocyte DNA.…”

“…Conversely, individuals may start life with shorter than normal telomeres that then play a role in the disease progression of diabetes [14], contributing to impaired glucose management and insulin secretion [15]. The latter possibility is indicated by the observation that diabetes during pregnancy, is linked to shortened telomere length in blood leukocytes from exposed children [16, 17], although not all studies report such a link [18–20]. If individuals exposed in utero to GDM start life with shorter telomeres, this may explain why they are at higher risk of adverse outcomes such as T2DM later in life.…”