The rate of leukocyte telomere shortening predicts mortality from cardiovascular disease in elderly men: a novel demonstration

Abstract

Telomere length (TL) has been proposed as a marker of mitotic cell age and as a general index of human organismic aging. Short absolute leukocyte telomere length has been linked to cardiovascular-related morbidity and mortality. Our aim was to test whether the rate of change in leukocyte TL is related to mortality in a healthy elderly cohort. We examined a subsample of 236 randomly selected Caucasian participants from the MacArthur Health Aging Study (aged 70 to 79 years). DNA samples from baseline and 2.5 years later were assayed for mean TL of leukocytes. Percent change in TL was calculated as a measure of TL change (TLC). Associations between TL and TLC with 12-year overall and cardiovascular mortality were assessed. Over the 2.5 year period, 46% of the study participants showed maintenance of mean bulk TL, whereas 30% showed telomere shortening, and, unexpectedly, 24% showed telomere lengthening. For women, short baseline TL was related to greater mortality from cardiovascular disease (OR = 2.3; 95% CI: 1.0 - 5.3). For men, TLC (specifically shortening), but not baseline TL, was related to greater cardiovascular mortality, OR = 3.0 (95% CI: 1.1 - 8.2). This is the first demonstration that rate of telomere length change (TLC) predicts mortality and thus may be a useful prognostic factor for longevity.

Leukocyte telomere length: Effects of schizophrenia, age, and gender

“…Consequently, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies address different research questions. Furthermore, cross-sectional studies can demonstrate LTL correlates with current diseases, but longitudinal studies are necessary to assess whether LTL at one time point predicts subsequent development of diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease) and mortality (Cawthon et al, 2003;Epel et al, 2009). As an example of this difficulty, the starting points of the trajectories in the four groups in our study differed, and the trajectories of subjects with schizophrenia and HCs within each gender group crossed, men at about age 35, while women approach crossing at about age 65.…”

Is the Mean Blood Leukocyte Telomere Length a Predictor for Sporadic Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm? Data from a Preliminary Study

“…Shorter telomeres have been demonstrated in subjects with several CVD pathologies, including chronic heart failure, atherosclerosis, ventricular dysfunction, coronary artery calcification, and aortic valve stenosis. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Furthermore, telomere length has been also identified as an independent predictor of heart disease-related events. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12] In addition, a significant reduction in telomere content of AAA wall samples compared to normal aorta and in AAA patients than controls has been detected.…”

“…[6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Furthermore, telomere length has been also identified as an independent predictor of heart disease-related events. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12] In addition, a significant reduction in telomere content of AAA wall samples compared to normal aorta and in AAA patients than controls has been detected. 12,13 The mechanisms linking blood telomere attrition to CVD have been studied recently, 6 and number of potential explanations have been suggested.…”

“…[6][7][8][9][10][11] This assumption is based on the evidence that telomere content (the TTAGGG DNA repeats at the ends of chromosomes) in circulating blood leukocytes accurately reflects the biological age of the vascular wall, as recently demonstrated by Wilson et al 12 Furthermore, a series of recent epidemiological studies have demonstrated association of the reduction of blood telomere length with several CVD, such as AAA. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Patients with AAA showed a shorter leukocyte telomere length compared to controls, as verified by Atturu et al 13 In light of this evidence, our studies are aimed at determining whether the mean of blood leukocyte telomere length might be a predictor for S-TAA. 14 histopathological and phenotypic analyses, and exclusion criteria for syndromic and familial forms (e.g., Marfan and Ehler-Danlos syndromes) and autoimmune connective tissue disorders were used.…”

Assessing the scholarly impact of health psychology: A citation analysis of articles published from 1993 to 2003.

“…Telomeres are DNA-protein complexes that cap chromosomal ends, conferring chromosomal stability [2,3]. Shorter leukocyte telomere length is a putative risk factor for several chronic conditions, including hypertension [4], atherosclerosis [5], type 2 diabetes mellitus [6,7], and predicts risk for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality [8][9][10].…”