Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Biodemography Soc Biol. 2019 Oct-Dec;65(4):351-369. doi: 10.1080/19485565.2020.1798736. Epub 2020 Nov 26.
Telomere length (TL) is a biomarker that can be used to characterize variability in aging and may explain race/ethnic differences in aging. Yet, it remains unclear if TL is related to aging-associated health risks in multi-ethnic populations or if it explains race/ethnic differences in health. We examine whether salivary TL (STL) explains any of the race/ethnic variability in 15 indicators of high-risk biological, physical and cognitive health among 4,074 white, black, and Latinx older adults ages 54+ in the 2008 Health and Retirement Study. TL was assayed from saliva using quantitative PCR (T/S ratio). Decomposition analyses from logistic regression models show variation in STL does not account for any of the observed race/ethnic differences health. In age-adjusted, race-stratified models, STL was associated with HDL, total cholesterol, and lung function among whites, but was not associated with any markers of health among black or Latinx groups. In this diverse national sample of older adults, STL does not account for race/ethnic differences in late life health, is associated with relatively few indicators of health among whites, and is not associated with indicators of health among black or Latinx groups. STL may not be a useful biomarker for understanding racial/ethnic differences in population aging among older adults.
端粒长度 (TL) 是一种生物标志物，可用于描述衰老过程中的变异性，并可能解释衰老过程中的种族/民族差异。然而，TL 是否与多民族人群的衰老相关健康风险有关，或者它是否解释了健康方面的种族/民族差异，目前仍不清楚。我们研究了唾液端粒长度 (STL) 是否可以解释在参加 2008 年健康与退休研究的 4074 名年龄在 54 岁及以上的白种人、黑人和拉丁裔老年人中，15 个高风险生物、身体和认知健康指标中的种族/民族差异。TL 是使用定量 PCR（T/S 比）从唾液中检测出来的。来自逻辑回归模型的分解分析表明，STL 的变化并不能解释观察到的任何种族/民族差异健康。在年龄调整、按种族分层的模型中，STL 与白种人中的高密度脂蛋白、总胆固醇和肺功能有关，但与黑人和拉丁裔群体中任何健康指标均无关。在这个多样化的全国性老年成年人样本中，STL 不能解释晚年健康方面的种族/民族差异，与白种人中相对较少的健康指标有关，与黑人和拉丁裔群体中的健康指标无关。STL 可能不是理解老年人群体衰老过程中种族/民族差异的有用生物标志物。
