Journal
NEUROSCIENCE LETTERS
Volume 406, Issue 3, Pages 260-264Publisher
ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2006.07.055
Keywords
ageing; cognition; intelligence; mortality; telomere length
Categories
Funding
- Wellcome Trust Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Telomeres are nucleo-protein complexes that protect the ends of chromosomes. The telomeric DNA component shortens each time a somatic cell replicates, eventually leading to cell senescence. Telomere length has been associated with morbidity and mortality rates from age-related diseases. We tested the hypotheses that mean peripheral blood leukocyte telomere length, at age 79 years, is associated with physical health at age 79, cognitive ability at age 79, lifetime cognitive change, smoking, alcohol consumption, social class in adulthood, and mortality in a cohort of people without dementia (the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921: LBC 1921). There was a small, significant association between telomere length and verbal fluency (a test of executive function) before (r = -0.16, p = 0.027) and after (r = -0.17, p = 0.022) adjustment for mental ability at age 11. This might be a type I error. Otherwise, we find that telomere length in old age does not have a significant association with age-related physical and cognitive decline or mortality. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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