Associations of leukocyte telomere length with body anthropometric indices and weight change in chinese women

Abstract

ObjectiveTelomeres are specialized chromatin structures essential for maintenance of chromosomal integrity and stability. Obesity has been proposed to be associated with telomere shortening; however, epidemiologic evidence has been conflicting. We conducted a study to evaluate the associations of telomere length with various anthropometric indices of general and abdominal obesity, as well as weight change.Design and MethodsThe study included 2,912 Chinese women ages 40–70 years. Monochrome multiplex quantitative PCR was applied to measure relative telomere length. ANOVA and the Dunnett test were used to compare log-transformed relative telomere length. Tests for linear trend were performed by entering the ordinal exposure as continuous parameters in the models.ResultsThere is an inverse association between telomere length and body mass index (BMI) (Ptrend = 0.005), waist circumference (Ptrend = 0.004), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) (Ptrend = 0.004), weight (Ptrend = 0.010), and hip circumference (Ptrend = 0.026), but not waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) (Ptrend = 0.116) or height (Ptrend = 0.675). Weight change since age 50 was further evaluated among women over age 55. Women who maintained their weight within ±5% since age 50, particularly within a normal range (BMI = 18.5–24.9 kg/m2), or reduced their weight from overweight (BMI = 25–29.9 kg/m2) or obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) to normal range, had a longer mean of current telomere length than women who gained weight since age 50 (Ptrend = 0.025), particularly those who stayed in obesity or gained weight from normal range or overweight to obesity (P = 0.023).ConclusionOur findings provide strong evidence supporting the hypothesis that telomere shortening is associated with obesity and that maintaining body weight within a normal range helps maintain telomere length.