Journal
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
Volume 76, Issue 6, Pages 955-963Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glaa322
Keywords
Cognitive aging; Leukocyte telomere length; Longitudinal; Memory; Population-based
Categories
Funding
- Swedish Research Council [201703011, 201801729]
- Vasterbotten County Council [RV-735451, RV-453141, RV-225461, RV-741571, RV-678571, RV-582111, RV-491371, RV-400741, RV-322831, RV-243741, RV-932787, RV-865381, RV-745571]
- Medical Faculty at Umea University
- Kempe Foundation
- Uppsala-Umea Comprehensive Cancer Consortium
- Umea University [RV-735451, RV-453141, RV-225461, RV-741571, RV-678571, RV-582111, RV-491371, RV-400741, RV-322831, RV-243741, RV-932787, RV-865381, RV-745571]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Shorter baseline LTL is associated with subsequent memory decline, but intra-individual changes in LTL may not be as informative of cognitive outcomes in aging. Long-term longitudinal evaluation of outcomes in biomarker research is essential.
Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a proposed biomarker for aging-related disorders, including cognitive decline and dementia. Long-term longitudinal studies measuring intra-individual changes in both LTL and cognitive outcomes are scarce, precluding strong conclusions about a potential aging-related relationship between LTL shortening and cognitive decline. This study investigated associations between baseline levels and longitudinal changes in LTL and memory performance across an up to 20-year follow-up in 880 dementia-free participants from a population-based study (mean baseline age: 56.8 years, range: 40-80; 52% female). Shorter baseline LTL significantly predicted subsequent memory decline (r = .34, 95% confidence interval: 0.06, 0.82), controlling for age, sex, and other relevant covariates. No significant associations were however observed between intra-individual changes in LTL and memory, neither concurrently nor with a 5-year time-lag between LTL shortening and memory decline. These results support the notion of short LTL as a predictive factor for aging-related memory decline, but suggest that LTL dynamics in adulthood and older age may be less informative of cognitive outcomes in aging. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of long-term longitudinal evaluation of outcomes in biomarker research.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available