Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2020 Sep-Oct;38(5):989-992. Epub 2020 Apr 9.
Telomere shortening is a well-established marker of biological aging. Whether telomere erosion coincides with age-related increases in antinuclear antibody (ANA) seropositivity remains unknown. Our study aimed to determine the association between ANA seropositivity and shortened telomeres among 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) subjects.
We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 2,188 NHANES study participants with available ANA and telomere length data. ANA testing was performed using indirect immunofluorescence. Telomere lengths were measured via quantitative polymerase chain reaction methods. Applying appropriate sample weighting techniques, we used univariate and multivariate logistic regression methods to assess the association between shortened telomeres (i.e. lowest decile of the cohort) and ANA seropositivity.
ANAs were positive in 322 out of 2,188 (14.7%, 95% CI 13.3-16.3%) individuals. Subjects with shortened telomeres were more likely to be older (p<0.001), male (p=0.005), and have a cancer history (p<0.001). A higher proportion of non-Hispanic white participants (61.6% vs. 49.3%) and a lower proportion of non-Hispanic black participants (7.8% vs. 17.9%) had shortened telomeres (p<0.001). Shortened telomeres were not independently associated with ANA seropositivity (OR 1.48, 95% CI 0.87-2.52, p=0.14). However, female sex (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.23-2.96, p=0.006), age ≥80 years (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.08-3.92, p=0.03), and African American race (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.00-2.51, p=0.05) were independent risk factors for ANA seropositivity. Neither sex nor race modified the relationship between ANA seropositivity and telomere length.
Telomere erosion does not appear to be responsible for age-related increases in the prevalence of ANA seropositivity.
端粒缩短是生物衰老的一个既定标志物。端粒磨损是否与年龄相关的抗核抗体（ANA）阳性率增加相一致尚不清楚。我们的研究旨在确定 1999-2002 年全国健康和营养检查调查（NHANES）参与者中 ANA 阳性与端粒缩短之间的关联。
我们对 2188 名具有可用 ANA 和端粒长度数据的 NHANES 研究参与者进行了横断面分析。ANA 检测采用间接免疫荧光法进行。通过定量聚合酶链反应方法测量端粒长度。应用适当的样本加权技术，我们使用单变量和多变量逻辑回归方法评估端粒缩短（即队列的最低十分位数）与 ANA 阳性之间的关联。
2188 名个体中，322 名（14.7%，95%置信区间 13.3-16.3%）ANA 阳性。端粒缩短的受试者更可能年龄较大（p<0.001）、男性（p=0.005）和有癌症病史（p<0.001）。非西班牙裔白人参与者的比例较高（61.6% vs. 49.3%），而非西班牙裔黑人参与者的比例较低（7.8% vs. 17.9%）（p<0.001）。端粒缩短与 ANA 阳性无关（比值比 1.48，95%置信区间 0.87-2.52，p=0.14）。然而，女性（比值比 1.91，95%置信区间 1.23-2.96，p=0.006）、年龄≥80 岁（比值比 2.06，95%置信区间 1.08-3.92，p=0.03）和非裔美国人种族（比值比 1.58，95%置信区间 1.00-2.51，p=0.05）是 ANA 阳性的独立危险因素。性别和种族均未改变 ANA 阳性与端粒长度之间的关系。
端粒磨损似乎不是年龄相关 ANA 阳性率增加的原因。
