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Abstract
Introduction. Leucocyte telomere length (LTL) is associated with age-related health outcomes, but only few longitudinal studies have assessed changes in LTL in an ageing population.
Methods. A total of 1,082 subjects from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study (born 1934–1944), undergoing two clinical visits ∼10 years apart, were studied. Relative LTL was measured twice by quantitative real-time PCR. Simple and multiple regressions were used to study associations between cardiometabolic risk factors and LTL.
Results. Telomere shortening was observed in 93.7%, and telomere elongation in 6.3% of the study participants. Telomere shortening was more rapid among males (–39.5% ± 1.1% versus –35.5% ± 1.0%, P < 0.01). In men a decrease in weight, waist circumference, BMI, and body fat percentage were all associated with telomere shortening during the follow-up (P < 0.05) independently of age and use of medication. Furthermore, higher body fat percentage and higher HDL-cholesterol level were associated with a slower rate of shortening in LTL (P < 0.05). Lower blood pressure levels were also associated with slower rate of telomere shortening in men (P < 0.05). No similar associations were observed among women.
Discussion. A decrease in adiposity was associated with telomere shortening, and higher body fat percentage and HDL-cholesterol were associated with a slower rate of shortening in telomere length in men.
Funding: HBCS has been supported by grants from Finska Läkaresällskapet, the Finnish Special Governmental Subsidy for Health Sciences, Academy of Finland, Samfundet Folkhälsan, Liv och Hälsa, the Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation, and EU FP7 (DORIAN) project number 278603.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest.