Leukocyte Telomere Length in Healthy Caucasian and African-American Adolescents: Relationships with Race, Sex, Adiposity, Adipokines, and Physical Activity

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• 作者：Haidong Zhu ; Xiaoling Wang ; Bernard Gutin ; Catherine L. Davis ; Daniel Keeton ; Jeffrey Thomas ; Inger Stallmann-Jorgensen ; Grace Mooken ; Vanessa Bundy ; Harold Snieder ; Pim van der Harst ; Yanbin Dong
• 刊名：The Journal of Pediatrics
• 出版年：2011
• 出版时间：February 2011
• 年：2011
• 卷：158
• 期：2
• 页码：215-220
• 全文大小：156 K

文摘

Objective

To examine the relationships of race, sex, adiposity, adipokines, and physical activity to telomere length in adolescents.

Study design

Leukocyte telomere length (T/S ratio) was assessed cross-sectionally in 667 adolescents (aged 14-18 years; 48 % African-Americans; 51 % girls) using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction method. Generalized estimating equations analyses were performed.

Results

Telomere length was greater in the African-American adolescents than in the Caucasian adolescents (age- and sex-adjusted T/S ratio ± SE, 1.32 ± 0.01 vs 1.27 ± 0.01: P = .014) and greater in girls than in boys (age- and race-adjusted T/S ratio ± SE, 1.31 ± 0.01 vs 1.27 ± 0.01; P = .007). None of the adiposity or adipokine measures explained a significant proportion of the variance in telomere length. Vigorous physical activity was positively associated with telomere length (adjusted R² = 0.019; P = .009) and accounted for 1.9 % of the total variance only in girls.

Conclusions

This study, conducted in a biracial adolescent cohort, demonstrated that (1) race and sex differences in telomere length have already emerged during adolescence; (2) adiposity and adipokines are not associated with telomere length at this age; and (3) the antiaging effect of vigorous physical activity may begin in youth, especially in girls.