Association of shorter mean telomere length with risk of incident myocardial infarction: A prospective, nested case-control approach

Background: Recent data have implicated telomere length shortening as a potential risk predictor for cardiovascular disease. However, to date, prospective epidemiological data are scarce. Methods: Using leukocyte DNA samples collected at baseline in a prospective cohort of 14,916 initially healthy American men. we examined the relationship of mean telomere repeat copy number to single gene copy number (T/S ratio), using a re-modified quantitative polymerase chain reaction protocol, among 337 white males who subsequently developed an incident myocardial infarction (MI), and among an equal number of age- and smoking-matched white males who remained free of reported vascular disease during follow-up (controls). Results: The mean follow-up time since randomization was 3.85 y. The T/S ratio was inversely correlated with age in the controls (R = -0.114; p = 0.036). The log(e)-transformed T/S ratios were significantly smaller in the MI cases (3.41 +/- 0.63) than the MI controls (3.52 +/- 0.78) (p = 0.01). In a multi-variable adjusted analysis, decreased T/S ratio was significantly associated with risk of MI (odds ratio = 1.621; 95%CI = 1.140-2304; p = 0.007). Conclusions:The present investigation has shown an association of telomere length shortening with increased risk of incident myocardial infarction, further suggesting the importance of telomere biology in atherogenesis. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.