Abstract

Telomere shortening has been associated with biological age and several chronic degenerative diseases. However, less is known about telomere length and frailty, which is an indicator of biological age. This study examines the association between telomere length and frailty in a prospective study over five years of 2006 men and women aged 65 years and older living in the community. The frailty status was determined by the Fried's criteria. Telomere length in leukocytes was measured using the quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between telomere length and incidence of frailty. Among 2006 subjects (mean age 72.4±5.1 years, 51.3% women), the mean telomere length at baseline was 9.1±2.0kb and the frailty phenotype was detected in 127 subjects (6.3%). Male gender was related to shorter telomere length, with increased years of age related to a shortened telomere length (P<0.05). In both men and women, no statistically significant difference of telomere length and the frailty phenotype was observed at baseline. After 4 years of follow-up, 116 cases of frailty were identified. There was no association between telomere length and incident frailty. In conclusion, telomere length was not associated with frailty in this study population.

Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.