AIMS: Peripheral blood leucocyte (PBL) telomere length (TL) is a systemic ageing biomarker and has been proposed to be an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We aimed at providing an explanation for this association by the evaluation of the biomarker value of PBL-TL in preclinical atherosclerosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Peripheral blood leucocyte telomere length was assessed by telomere restriction fragment analysis in 2509 volunteers free from established CVD, aged approximately 35-55 years old, from the Asklepios Study cohort. Intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque presence were determined by ultrasonography in both left and right carotid and femoral arteries. Peripheral blood leucocyte telomere length was not a significant independent determinant of IMT (P > 0.3) or plaque presence (P > 0.05), in either artery or either sex. In women but not in men, PBL-TL was a weak determinant of combined (carotid or femoral) plaque presence, adjusted for other risk factors (women: P = 0.03, men: P > 0.4). However, even in women presenting plaques, PBL-TL was still longer than in men. CONCLUSION: Since systemic TL is not a substantial underlying determinant of preclinical atherosclerosis, the association between CVD and TL cannot be explained by the fact that subjects with shorter inherited TL are predisposed to atherosclerosis.
AIMS: Peripheral blood leucocyte (PBL) telomere length (TL) is a systemic ageing biomarker and has been proposed to be an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We aimed at providing an explanation for this association by the evaluation of the biomarker value of PBL-TL in preclinical atherosclerosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Peripheral blood leucocyte telomere length was assessed by telomere restriction fragment analysis in 2509 volunteers free from established CVD, aged approximately 35-55 years old, from the Asklepios Study cohort. Intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque presence were determined by ultrasonography in both left and right carotid and femoral arteries. Peripheral blood leucocyte telomere length was not a significant independent determinant of IMT (P > 0.3) or plaque presence (P > 0.05), in either artery or either sex. In women but not in men, PBL-TL was a weak determinant of combined (carotid or femoral) plaque presence, adjusted for other risk factors (women: P = 0.03, men: P > 0.4). However, even in women presenting plaques, PBL-TL was still longer than in men. CONCLUSION: Since systemic TL is not a substantial underlying determinant of preclinical atherosclerosis, the association between CVD and TL cannot be explained by the fact that subjects with shorter inherited TL are predisposed to atherosclerosis.
Authors: Marij Gielen; Geja J Hageman; Evangelia E Antoniou; Katarina Nordfjall; Massimo Mangino; Muthuswamy Balasubramanyam; Tim de Meyer; Audrey E Hendricks; Erik J Giltay; Steven C Hunt; Jennifer A Nettleton; Klelia D Salpea; Vanessa A Diaz; Ramin Farzaneh-Far; Gil Atzmon; Sarah E Harris; Lifang Hou; David Gilley; Iiris Hovatta; Jeremy D Kark; Hisham Nassar; David J Kurz; Karen A Mather; Peter Willeit; Yun-Ling Zheng; Sofia Pavanello; Ellen W Demerath; Line Rode; Daniel Bunout; Andrew Steptoe; Lisa Boardman; Amelia Marti; Belinda Needham; Wei Zheng; Rosalind Ramsey-Goldman; Andrew J Pellatt; Jaakko Kaprio; Jonathan N Hofmann; Christian Gieger; Giuseppe Paolisso; Jacob B H Hjelmborg; Lisa Mirabello; Teresa Seeman; Jason Wong; Pim van der Harst; Linda Broer; Florian Kronenberg; Barbara Kollerits; Timo Strandberg; Dan T A Eisenberg; Catherine Duggan; Josine E Verhoeven; Roxanne Schaakxs; Raffaela Zannolli; Rosana M R Dos Reis; Fadi J Charchar; Maciej Tomaszewski; Ute Mons; Ilja Demuth; Andrea Elena Iglesias Molli; Guo Cheng; Dmytro Krasnienkov; Bianca D'Antono; Marek Kasielski; Barry J McDonnell; Richard Paul Ebstein; Kristina Sundquist; Guillaume Pare; Michael Chong; Maurice P Zeegers Journal: Am J Clin Nutr Date: 2018-09-01 Impact factor: 7.045
Authors: Stanford Mwasongwe; Yan Gao; Michael Griswold; James G Wilson; Abraham Aviv; Alexander P Reiner; Laura M Raffield Journal: Atherosclerosis Date: 2017-09-15 Impact factor: 5.162
Authors: Carly Skamra; Juanita Romero-Diaz; Alexander Sandhu; QiQuan Huang; Jungwha Lee; William Pearce; David D McPherson; Kim Sutton-Tyrrell; Richard Pope; Rosalind Ramsey-Goldman Journal: Rheumatology (Oxford) Date: 2013-02-04 Impact factor: 7.580
Authors: Muhammad Hammadah; Ibhar Al Mheid; Kobina Wilmot; Ronnie Ramadan; Naser Abdelhadi; Ayman Alkhoder; Malik Obideen; Pratik M Pimple; Oleksiy Levantsevych; Heval M Kelli; Amit Shah; Yan V Sun; Brad Pearce; Michael Kutner; Qi Long; Laura Ward; Yi-An Ko; Kareem Hosny Mohammed; Jue Lin; Jinying Zhao; J Douglas Bremner; Jinhee Kim; Edmund K Waller; Paolo Raggi; David Sheps; Arshed A Quyyumi; Viola Vaccarino Journal: Circ Res Date: 2016-12-12 Impact factor: 17.367