Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland.
Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland; Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences and Gerontology Research Center, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Mech Ageing Dev. 2019 Oct;183:111145. doi: 10.1016/j.mad.2019.111145. Epub 2019 Sep 3.
Telomere length has been suggested a biomarker of aging and is associated with several chronic diseases. However, the association between telomere length and physical performance is not well known. Using both cross-sectional and longitudinal data, we studied 582 women and 453 men from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study at two time-points; a baseline examination in 2001-2004 at a mean age of 61 years and a follow-up examination approximately 10 years later in 2011-2013. Telomere length was measured both at baseline and at follow-up using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Physical performance was evaluated only at follow-up using the Senior Fitness Test (SFT), which assesses strength, flexibility and endurance. In women, shorter telomere length at follow-up (p = 0.044) and greater telomere attrition during follow-up time (p = 0.022) were associated with poorer physical performance after adjusting for covariates (age at baseline, smoking status, body mass index at baseline, follow-up time and educational attainment). No similar associations were found for men. This indicates that, at least in women, telomere length could potentially be used as a biomarker for physical performance, however, more longitudinal studies are needed to confirm this association.
端粒长度被认为是衰老的生物标志物，与多种慢性疾病有关。然而，端粒长度与身体表现之间的关系尚不清楚。我们使用横断面和纵向数据，研究了来自赫尔辛基出生队列研究的 582 名女性和 453 名男性，他们在两个时间点接受了检查；2001-2004 年基线检查时的平均年龄为 61 岁，大约 10 年后的 2011-2013 年进行了随访检查。端粒长度在基线和随访时均使用实时定量聚合酶链反应进行测量。身体表现仅在随访时使用高级体能测试（SFT）进行评估，该测试评估力量、灵活性和耐力。在女性中，调整了协变量（基线年龄、吸烟状况、基线体重指数、随访时间和教育程度）后，随访时端粒长度较短（p=0.044）和随访期间端粒损耗较大（p=0.022）与身体表现较差相关。对于男性，没有发现类似的关联。这表明，至少在女性中，端粒长度可能可以用作身体表现的生物标志物，但需要更多的纵向研究来证实这种关联。
