Telomere length and physical performance among older people : the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study
Åström, Max J.; von Bonsdorff, Mikaela B.; Perälä, Mia-Maria; Salonen, Minna K.; Rantanen, Taina; Kajantie, Eero; Simonen, Mika; Pohjolainen, Pertti; Haapanen, Markus J.; Guzzardi, Maria A.; Iozzo, Patricia; Kautiainen, Hannu; Eriksson, Johan G. (2019-09-03)
Max J. Åström, Mikaela B. von Bonsdorff, Mia-Maria Perälä, Minna K. Salonen, Taina Rantanen, Eero Kajantie, Mika Simonen, Pertti Pohjolainen, Markus J. Haapanen, Maria A. Guzzardi, Patricia Iozzo, Hannu Kautiainen, Johan G. Eriksson, Telomere length and physical performance among older people—The Helsinki Birth Cohort Study, Mechanisms of Ageing and Development, Volume 183, 2019, 111145, ISSN 0047-6374, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mad.2019.111145
© 2019 Published by Elsevier B.V. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2019111838513
Tiivistelmä
Abstract
Telomere length has been suggested a biomarker of aging and is associated with several chronic diseases. However, the association between telomere length and physical performance is not well known. Using both cross-sectional and longitudinal data, we studied 582 women and 453 men from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study at two time-points; a baseline examination in 2001–2004 at a mean age of 61 years and a follow-up examination approximately 10 years later in 2011–2013. Telomere length was measured both at baseline and at follow-up using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Physical performance was evaluated only at follow-up using the Senior Fitness Test (SFT), which assesses strength, flexibility and endurance. In women, shorter telomere length at follow-up (p = 0.044) and greater telomere attrition during follow-up time (p = 0.022) were associated with poorer physical performance after adjusting for covariates (age at baseline, smoking status, body mass index at baseline, follow-up time and educational attainment). No similar associations were found for men. This indicates that, at least in women, telomere length could potentially be used as a biomarker for physical performance, however, more longitudinal studies are needed to confirm this association.
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