Land use mix and leukocyte telomere length in Mexican Americans

Hua Zhao,Jie Shen,Kai Zhang,Wong-Ho Chow,David Chang,Xifeng Wu,Yuanqing Ye

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-99171-6

Abstract

It has been well-known that built environment features influence the risk of chronic diseases. However, the existing data of its relationship with telomere length, a biomarker of biological aging, is still limited, with no study available for Mexican Americans. This study investigates the relationship between several factors of the built environment with leukocyte telomere length among 5508 Mexican American adults enrolled in Mano-A-Mano, the Mexican American Cohort Study (MACS). Based on the quartile levels of telomere length, the study population was categorized into four groups, from the lowest (1st quartile) to the highest telomere length group (4th quartile). For individual built environment factors, their levels did not differ significantly across four groups. However, in the multinominal logistic regression analysis, increased Rundle’s land use mixture (LUM) and Frank’s LUM were found statistically significantly associated with increased odds of having high levels of telomere length (Rundle’s LUM: 2nd quartile: Odds ratio (OR) 1.26, 95% Confidence interval (CI) 1.07, 1.48; 3rd quartile: OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.06, 1.46; 4th quartile: OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.01, 1.41; Frank’s LUM: 2nd quartile: OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.02, 2.63; 3rd quartile: OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.04, 2.91; 4th quartile: OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.05, 2.72, respectively). The associations for Rundle’s LUM remained significant after further adjusting other non-redundant built environment factors. Finally, in stratified analysis, we found the association between Rundle’s LUM and telomere length was more evident among younger individuals (< 38 years old), women, and those with obesity, born in Mexico, having low levels of physical activity, and having low levels of acculturation than their relative counterparts. In summary, our results indicate that land use mixture may impact telomere length in leukocytes in Mexican Americans.

Highlights

It is estimated that by 2050, 70% of the projected world population will live in urban a reas[1]
We attempted to estimate the associations between several factors of the built environment and leukocyte telomere length among adult participants enrolled in the Mexican American Cohort study (MACs) study, a large Mexican American cohort study in the U.S.32
We identified the study participants from those registered in the MAC study, a large population-based cohort of Mexican-origin households recruited in the Houston, Texas area

Summary

Introduction

It is estimated that by 2050, 70% of the projected world population will live in urban a reas[1]. We observed that selected built environment factors (e.g., population density and road/intersection ratio) affect leukocyte mitochondrial DNA copy number levels, a biomarker linking environmental exposures and chronic diseases[12]. In a cross-sectional study of 1488 individuals, inverse associations between telomere length with population density and urban crowding were r eported[28] None of those existing studies focus on Mexican Americans, who are susceptible to changes in the built environment. We attempted to estimate the associations between several factors of the built environment (e.g., physical activity environment, land use, and food environment) and leukocyte telomere length among adult participants enrolled in the MAC study, a large Mexican American cohort study in the U.S.32. We hypothesized that exposure to certain built environment features might alter telomere length

Methods

Results

Conclusion