Leukocyte telomere length is associated with disability in older u.s. Population.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether mean leukocyte telomere length (LTL) serves as a biomarker of disability assessed according to activities of daily living (ADLs) and what factors may modify this relationship. DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional study. SETTING: A subset of the National Long Term Care Survey (NTLCS), a Medicare-based U.S. population longitudinal study focused on trends of overall health and functional status in older adults. PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred and twenty-four individuals from the 1999 wave of the NTLCS cohort. MEASUREMENTS: Relative LTL determined according to quantitative polymerase chain reaction. LTL has previously been shown to correlate with common age-related disorders and mortality, as well as with socioeconomic status. RESULTS: A sex difference in LTL was observed but not age-dependent shortening or association with socioeconomic status. LTL was associated with disability and functional status assessed according to ADLs. The association between ADLs and LTL was stronger in subjects without diabetes mellitus, whereas associations were not seen when only subjects with diabetes mellitus were analyzed. Associations between LTL and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer were also present in the group without diabetes mellitus but not in the group with diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSION: These findings support the concept that LTL is a biomarker of overall well-being that is predictive of disability of older individuals in the U.S. population. Diabetes mellitus plays an important role as a modifier of the association between LTL and disability, CVD, and cancer. These associations have clinical implications because of the potential predictive value of LTL and deserve further investigation.

Department

Description

Provenance

Subjects

Activities of Daily Living, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Biomarkers, Cross-Sectional Studies, Disability Evaluation, Female, Geriatric Assessment, Humans, Leukocytes, Male, Predictive Value of Tests, Retrospective Studies, Sex Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, Telomere

Citation

Published Version (Please cite this version)

10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.02948.x

Publication Info

Risques, Rosa Ana, Konstantin G Arbeev, Anatoli I Yashin, Svetlana V Ukraintseva, George M Martin, Peter S Rabinovitch and Junko Oshima (2010). Leukocyte telomere length is associated with disability in older u.s. Population. J Am Geriatr Soc, 58(7). pp. 1289–1298. 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.02948.x Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/14880.

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Scholars@Duke

Arbeev

Konstantin Arbeev

Associate Research Professor in the Social Science Research Institute

Konstantin G. Arbeev received the M.S. degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow State University (branch in Ulyanovsk, Russia) in 1995 and the Ph.D. degree in Mathematics and Physics (specialization in Theoretical Foundations of Mathematical Modeling, Numerical Methods and Programming) from Ulyanovsk State University (Russia) in 1999. He was a post-doctoral fellow in Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock (Germany) before moving to Duke University in 2004 to work as a Research Scientist and a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Sociology and the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI).  He is currently an Associate Research Professor in SSRI. Dr. Arbeev's major research interests are related to three interconnected fields of biodemography, biostatistics and genetic epidemiology as pertains to research on aging. The focus of his research is on discovering genetic and non-genetic factors that can affect the process of aging and determine longevity and healthy lifespan. He is interested in both methodological advances in this research area as well as their practical applications to analyses of large-scale longitudinal studies with phenotypic, genetic and, recently, genomic information. Dr. Arbeev authored and co-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications in these areas.

Yashin

Anatoli I. Yashin

Research Professor in the Social Science Research Institute
Ukraintseva

Svetlana Ukraintseva

Research Professor in the Social Science Research Institute

Dr. Ukraintseva studies the causes of human aging and the associated decline in whole-body resilience, with the goal of identifying genetic and other factors that drive this decline and contribute to the age-related increase in all-cause mortality risk, ultimately limiting longevity even in individuals without major diseases. She also investigates the “multi-hit” mechanism of Alzheimer’s disease and the complex, including trade‑off–like, relationships between Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. She actively explores the role of infectious diseases and compromised immunity in Alzheimer’s development, as well as the interplay between vaccines and genetic factors, to advance personalized vaccine repurposing for AD prevention. To address these questions, Dr. Ukraintseva and her team analyze large human datasets containing comprehensive information on millions of individuals. She is a PI and key investigator on several NIH-funded grants and has authored more than 150 peer‑reviewed publications, including in major journals such as JAMA, Nature group journals, Stroke, Alzheimer’s & Dementia, and others.

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