Association of telomere length in older men with mortality and midlife body mass index and smoking.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Prospective longitudinal cohort study evaluating midlife exposures against late-life telomere length and mortality.
PubMed 21697500 · doi:10.1093/gerona/glr064
What was done
In the Helsinki Businessmen Study, cardiovascular risk factors including body mass index (BMI) and smoking were evaluated at baseline (1964–1973, mean age 40). In 2002–2003 (mean age 78, n = 622), leukocyte telomere length and the proportion of short telomeres (<5 kb) were measured from DNA samples, alongside questionnaire assessments of late-life BMI and smoking. Total mortality was tracked via registers through January 2010.
What was found
Leukocyte telomere length and the proportion of short telomeres (<5 kb) in old age were significantly (p = .008 after full adjustments) and in a graded manner associated with midlife overweight and smoking, independent of age and cardiovascular risk factors including postload glucose. Associations between telomere metrics and old-age BMI or smoking were nonsignificant, and late-life telomere length did not predict 7-year total mortality.
Why it matters
This paper demonstrates that modifiable midlife cardiovascular risk factors have measurable associations with cellular aging markers decades later, while late-life telomere length may have limited prognostic value for short-term mortality in elderly populations.
Limits
The cohort comprised solely older male business executives, limiting generalizability to women and broader socioeconomic backgrounds. Telomere length was measured only at a single late-life timepoint rather than serially. Survivor bias is inherent given participants had to survive to approximately age 78 for DNA sampling. Specific point estimates, hazard ratios, and confidence intervals were omitted from the abstract.
Cited by
- supports A healthy lifestyle in midlife predicts longer telomeres and increased longevity decades later.