Huang Weiyi, Han Gang, Taylor Brandie DePaoli, Neal Gabriel, Kochan Kelli, Page Robin L
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Texas A &M University, College Station, TX, USA.
Division of Basic Science and Translational Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2025 Jun;311(6):1591-1598. doi: 10.1007/s00404-024-07681-1. Epub 2024 Aug 14.
This study aimed to explore the association between preterm birth and telomere length of maternal peripheral blood in African American women.
78 African American women were recruited for this study between 2018 and 2023 from 2 prenatal clinics in central and east Texas. Participants provided blood samples and completed clinic questionnaires, with clinical data collected from their post-delivery medical records. Telomere length was measured using monochrome multiplex quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Linear regression and multinomial logistic regression were used to analyze the association between telomere length and gestational length. Kruskal-Wallis's test and Fisher's exact test were used to compare preterm birth, early-term birth and full-term birth by telomere length, social-demographic characteristics, stress and discrimination.
The rates of preterm birth was higher in pregnant women with shorter telomeres. After adjusting for confounders, for every 10-units increase in the relative telomere-to-single-copy gene (T/S) ratio, gestational days increased by 1.090 days (90% CI 0.182, 1.997), and for every 10-units decrease in the T/S ratio, the odds of preterm birth was 2.664 (90% CI 1.064, 6.673) times greater than the odds of full-term birth. No statistically significant associations were observed between stress, discrimination, and either preterm birth or telomere length.
Maternal peripheral blood telomere shortening is associated with preterm birth, providing support to further explore the clinical utility of maternal telomere testing for prediction and early intervention of preterm birth and the study of biological mechanisms of spontaneous preterm birth.
本研究旨在探讨非裔美国女性早产与母体外周血端粒长度之间的关联。
2018年至2023年期间，从得克萨斯州中部和东部的两家产前诊所招募了78名非裔美国女性。参与者提供血样并完成诊所问卷，临床数据从她们产后的病历中收集。使用单色多重定量实时聚合酶链反应测量端粒长度。采用线性回归和多项逻辑回归分析端粒长度与孕周之间的关联。使用Kruskal-Wallis检验和Fisher精确检验，按端粒长度、社会人口学特征、压力和歧视情况比较早产、早期足月产和足月产。
端粒较短的孕妇早产率较高。在对混杂因素进行调整后，相对端粒与单拷贝基因（T/S）比值每增加10个单位，孕周增加1.090天（90%置信区间0.182，1.997），T/S比值每降低10个单位，早产几率是足月产几率的2.664倍（90%置信区间1.064，6.673）。在压力、歧视与早产或端粒长度之间未观察到具有统计学意义的关联。
母体外周血端粒缩短与早产相关，为进一步探索母体端粒检测在早产预测和早期干预中的临床应用以及自发性早产的生物学机制研究提供了支持。
