Abstract 14025: Atrial Fibrillation is Associated With Reduced Telomere Length

Abstract

Background: Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is common pathophysiologically complex. Age is among the most important AF risk factors. However, some young patients develop early-onset AF, whereas many others do not despite an advanced age. Advanced biological aging as opposed to advanced calendar age may be an explanation. Telomere length is associated with age and may be considered a measurable marker of biological age. AF and telomere length have previously been associated, but results remained inconclusive. Hypothesis: AF is age-related and associates with telomere length in a large case-control cohort. Methods: Between 2005 and 2018, we enrolled 2475 early-onset AF patients into the prospective AFLMU cohort. 3077 AF-free individuals from the community-based KORA study (enrollment 2006-08) served as controls. Clinical characteristics, an electrocardiogram, and a blood sample was obtained in all participants. We determined telomere length by a qPCR-based method using a multiplex TaqMan assay. Telomere length was expressed as delta-CT referenced to the single copy gene 36B4 .Lower CT values indicate shorter telomere length. Telomere length in cases vs. controls was assessed using multi-variably adjusted logistic regression. Results: Mean age was 58 years in AFLMU and 56 years in KORA. Men accounted for 72.3% in AFLMU and for 51.7% in KORA. For quality control, we confirmed a reduction of telomere length with age and demonstrated shorter telomere length in men compared to women. Median telomere length was also significantly shorter in AF patients compared to controls (9.81 [5.98, 13.1] vs. 13,10 [12.60, 13.63], p<0,001). The association remained significant after adjustment for sex, body mass index, hypertension, and diabetes (odds ratio per telomere length unit 0.77 [95% confidence interval 0.74-0.77], p<0.001). Conclusion: In a large case-control cohort, AF significantly associates with telomere length. Information on telomere length may help to inform if a patient develops AF due to premature biological aging. The underlying pathomechanisms for premature aging remain to be elucidated.