Abstract
Telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences at the end of chromosomes that function to protect chromosomes from degradation. Throughout the life course, telomere length decreases with age and is influenced by environmental factors and health conditions. This study aimed to determine the relative telomere lengths in a diverse cohort of about 4000 four-year-old children in New Zealand. Linear regression was used to investigate the relationship between telomere length, child gender, ethnicity, paternal age and deprivation. We observed substantial variation in telomere length according to sex and self-identified ethnicity. Telomere length was longer in females compared to males (coefficient of 0.042, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.024–0.060). European children had shorter telomere than both the indigenous Māori (coefficient of 0.03, CI 0.007–0.055) and Pacific children (coefficient of 0.15, CI 0.12–0.18). The data suggest that telomere lengths are highly variable and variability between individuals arise from early age, influenced partly by sex and ethnicity. Longer telomeres in indigenous Māori and Pacific children may reflect the heritability of telomere length in genetically less complex populations. This study increases our understanding of telomere dynamics in young children since the majority of telomere studies are conducted in adults.
Highlights
Telomeres are regions of repetitive DNA composed of the conserved sequence of TTAGGG and associated proteins located at chromosomal ends[1]
We have measured relative telomere length in a diverse cohort of children born in New Zealand
This is the largest study of telomere lengths in New Zealand and the first study of telomere length in preschool children in New Zealand
Summary
Telomeres are regions of repetitive DNA composed of the conserved sequence of TTAGGG and associated proteins located at chromosomal ends[1]. Telomere length has been found to be negatively associated with chronological age[4,5,6]. Telomere length has been found to be negatively associated with obesity[7,8], diabetes[9], some cancers[10], and cardiovascular disease[11]. Telomere length is negatively correlated with mental health factors such as perceived stress[12,13] and loneliness, as well as behaviours and external environmental conditions, such as exposure to violence[14], smoking[15], socioeconomic status[16], and social interaction[17]. Our objective was to measure telomere length in children from the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal cohort study[23]. We aimed to determine the baseline telomere length patterns in this longitudinal cohort so that future correlations with health and wellbeing could be ascertained. Relative telomere lengths were determined using a qPCR-based method[25] by comparing the telomere signal to that of a single copy gene (T/S ratio)
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