Nielsen Barbara Rubek, Linneberg Allan, Bendix Laila, Harboe Maria, Christensen Kaare, Schwarz Peter
Research Centre of Ageing and Osteoporosis, Departments of Medicine and Diagnostics, Glostrup University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark.
Research Centre for Prevention and Health, the Capital Region of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Clinical Experimental Research, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Exp Gerontol. 2015 Jun;66:25-31. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2015.04.004. Epub 2015 Apr 11.
Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and bone mineral density (BMD) are associated with health and mortality. Because osteoporosis is an age-related condition and LTL is considered to be a biomarker of aging, we hypothesized that shorter LTL could predict lower BMD. The aim of our study was to assess whether there is an association of LTL with BMD and to determine whether this possible association is independent of age. The BMDs of the lumbar spine (LS), femoral neck (FN) and total hip (TH) were evaluated in 460 women using DXA. LTL was analyzed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The women completed a health and lifestyle questionnaire. The associations were estimated by regression models that considered age, body mass index (BMI), menopause, physical activity, alcohol consumption and smoking habits. We found a statistically significant unadjusted association between LTL and age (estimate and 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.003 (-0.005; -0.002)); and between BMI adjusted age and logarithmic transformed BMD. Estimates and 95% CI were as follows: LS: -0.13 (-0.26; -0.01); right TH: -0.44 (-0.53; -0.34); left TH: -0.38 (-0.48; -0.28); right FN: -0.57 (-0.67; -0.46) and left FN: -0.51 (-0.62; -0.40). There were no statistically significant associations between BMD and LTL (both logarithmically transformed) with or without age adjustments. The age-adjusted estimates and CI were as follows: LS: -0.10 (-0.71; 0.52); right TH: -0.13 (-0.66; 0.41); left TH: -0.13 (-0.67; 0.42); right FN: -0.03 (-0.58; 0.52) and left FN: 0.09 (-0.47; 0.66). In conclusion, we found no statistically significant associations between BMD and LTL, although the estimates of the crude associations were all positive, indicating hypothesis consistency; that shorter LTL predict lower BMD values. This positive association was no longer apparent after adjusting for age. As expected, age was statistically significantly associated with both telomere length and BMI adjusted BMD.
白细胞端粒长度（LTL）和骨密度（BMD）与健康和死亡率相关。由于骨质疏松症是一种与年龄相关的疾病，且LTL被认为是衰老的生物标志物，我们推测较短的LTL可能预示着较低的BMD。我们研究的目的是评估LTL与BMD之间是否存在关联，并确定这种可能的关联是否独立于年龄。使用双能X线吸收法（DXA）对460名女性的腰椎（LS）、股骨颈（FN）和全髋（TH）的骨密度进行了评估。使用定量聚合酶链反应分析LTL。这些女性完成了一份健康和生活方式问卷。通过考虑年龄、体重指数（BMI）、绝经、身体活动、饮酒和吸烟习惯的回归模型来估计这些关联。我们发现LTL与年龄之间存在统计学上显著的未调整关联（估计值和95%置信区间（CI）：-0.003（-0.005；-0.002））；以及BMI校正年龄与对数转换后的BMD之间存在关联。估计值和95%CI如下：LS：-0.13（-0.26；-0.01）；右侧TH：-0.44（-0.53；-0.34）；左侧TH：-0.38（-0.48；-0.28）；右侧FN：-0.57（-0.67；-0.46）和左侧FN：-0.51（-0.62；-0.40）。无论是否进行年龄调整，BMD与LTL（均为对数转换）之间均无统计学上显著的关联。年龄调整后的估计值和CI如下：LS：-0.10（-0.71；0.52）；右侧TH：-0.13（-0.66；0.41）；左侧TH：-0.13（-0.67；0.42）；右侧FN：-0.03（-0.58；0.52）和左侧FN：0.09（-0.47；0.66）。总之，我们发现BMD与LTL之间无统计学上显著的关联，尽管粗略关联的估计值均为阳性，表明假设具有一致性；即较短的LTL预示着较低的BMD值。在调整年龄后，这种正相关不再明显。正如预期的那样，年龄与端粒长度和BMI校正后的BMD均存在统计学上的显著关联。
