Wang Hyewon, Kim Hyungjo, Baik Inkyung
Department of Foods and Nutrition, College of Science and Technology, Kookmin University, 77, Jeongnung-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02707, Korea.
Nutr Res Pract. 2017 Aug;11(4):334-339. doi: 10.4162/nrp.2017.11.4.334. Epub 2017 Jun 30.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Telomere length is a useful biomarker for determining general aging status. Some studies have reported an association between alcohol consumption and telomere length in a general population; however, it is unclear whether the alcohol flush reaction, which is an alcohol-related trait predominantly due to acetaldehyde dehydrogenase deficiency, is associated with telomere length. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the associations of alcohol consumption and alcohol flush reaction with leukocyte telomere length (LTL).
SUBJECTS/METHODS: The study included 1,803 Korean adults. Participants provided blood specimens for LTL measurement assay and reported their alcohol drinking status and the presence of an alcohol flush reaction via a questionnaire-based interview. Relative LTL was determined by using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Statistical analysis used multiple linear regression models stratified by sex and age groups, and potential confounding factors were considered.
Age-specific analyses showed that heavy alcohol consumption (> 30 g/day) was strongly associated with a reduced LTL in participants aged ≥ 65 years ( < 0.001) but not in younger participants. Similarly, the alcohol flush reaction was associated with a reduced LTL only in older participants who consumed > 15 g/day of alcohol ( < 0.01). No significant alcohol consumption or alcohol flush reaction associations with LTL were observed in the sex-specific analyses.
The results suggest that older alcohol drinkers, particularly those with the alcohol flush reaction, may have an accelerated aging process.
背景/目的：端粒长度是确定总体衰老状态的有用生物标志物。一些研究报告了普通人群中饮酒与端粒长度之间的关联；然而，尚不清楚酒精潮红反应（这是一种主要由于乙醛脱氢酶缺乏引起的与酒精相关的特征）是否与端粒长度相关。这项横断面研究旨在评估饮酒和酒精潮红反应与白细胞端粒长度（LTL）之间的关联。
受试者/方法：该研究纳入了1803名韩国成年人。参与者提供血液样本用于LTL测量分析，并通过问卷调查式访谈报告他们的饮酒状况和是否存在酒精潮红反应。使用定量聚合酶链反应确定相对LTL。统计分析采用按性别和年龄组分层的多元线性回归模型，并考虑了潜在的混杂因素。
按年龄分层的分析表明，重度饮酒（>30克/天）与65岁及以上参与者的LTL缩短密切相关（<0.001），但在年轻参与者中并非如此。同样，酒精潮红反应仅与每天饮酒量>15克的老年参与者的LTL缩短有关（<0.01）。在按性别分层的分析中，未观察到饮酒或酒精潮红反应与LTL之间存在显著关联。
结果表明，老年饮酒者，尤其是那些有酒精潮红反应的人，可能有加速衰老的过程。
