TY - JOUR
T1 - Leukocyte telomere length and physical ability among Danish twins age 70+
AU - Bendix, Laila
AU - Monrad Gade, Maria
AU - Wirenfeldt Staun, Pia
AU - Kimura, Masayuki
AU - Jeune, Bernard
AU - Hjelmborg, Jacob V
AU - Aviv, Abraham
AU - Christensen, Kaare
PY - 2011/11
Y1 - 2011/11
N2 - Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) shortens with age and is potentially a biomarker of human aging.We examined the relation of LTL with physical ability and cognitive function in 548 same-sex twins from the Longitudinal Study of Aging Danish Twins. LTL was measured by Southern blots of the terminal restriction fragments (TRF). Physical ability was evaluated using a self reported scale of 11 questions, while cognitive function was scored by MMSE and a cognitive composite score sensitive to age-related decline.A random intercept model revealed a positive, significant association between LTL and physical ability. For every unit increase in physical ability score, LTL increased by 0.066. kb (p=0.01), equal to approximately three years of age-dependent LTL shortening. A matched case-co-twin design showed that the group consisting of the twins from each pair with the longer LTL also displayed better physical ability (p<. 0.01). Moreover, the intra-pair difference in LTL was associated with intra-pair difference in physical ability (p<. 0.01), confirming the association. However, we found no association between cognitive function and LTL.The LTL-physical ability association in the elderly provides further support to the premise that LTL is an index of somatic fitness in the narrow context of human physical health.
AB - Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) shortens with age and is potentially a biomarker of human aging.We examined the relation of LTL with physical ability and cognitive function in 548 same-sex twins from the Longitudinal Study of Aging Danish Twins. LTL was measured by Southern blots of the terminal restriction fragments (TRF). Physical ability was evaluated using a self reported scale of 11 questions, while cognitive function was scored by MMSE and a cognitive composite score sensitive to age-related decline.A random intercept model revealed a positive, significant association between LTL and physical ability. For every unit increase in physical ability score, LTL increased by 0.066. kb (p=0.01), equal to approximately three years of age-dependent LTL shortening. A matched case-co-twin design showed that the group consisting of the twins from each pair with the longer LTL also displayed better physical ability (p<. 0.01). Moreover, the intra-pair difference in LTL was associated with intra-pair difference in physical ability (p<. 0.01), confirming the association. However, we found no association between cognitive function and LTL.The LTL-physical ability association in the elderly provides further support to the premise that LTL is an index of somatic fitness in the narrow context of human physical health.
U2 - 10.1016/j.mad.2011.10.003
DO - 10.1016/j.mad.2011.10.003
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 22019938
SN - 0047-6374
VL - 132
SP - 568
EP - 572
JO - Mechanisms of Ageing and Development
JF - Mechanisms of Ageing and Development
IS - 11-12
ER -