Abstract
BackgroundAge-related cognitive decline begins in middle age and persists with age. Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) decreases with age and is enhanced by inflammation and oxidative stress. However, whether shorter LTL correlates with cognitive decline remains controversial.AimsWe aimed to investigate the relationship between LTL and cognitive decline in the American elderly.MethodsWe used data from the 1999 to 2002 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). We included participants aged 65–80 with available data on LTL and cognitive assessments. The cognitive function assessment used the digit symbol substitution test (DSST). We applied multivariate modeling to estimate the association between LTL and cognitive performance. Additionally, to ensure robust data analysis, we converted LTL into categorical variables through quartile and then calculated the P for trend.ResultsAfter adjusting for age, cardiovascular disease (CAD) score, gender, race, body mass index (BMI), and educational level, LTL showed a positive correlation with DSST score (odds ratio [OR] 3.47 [0.14, 6.79], P = 0.04). Additionally, to further quantify the LTL–DSST interaction, we found a similar trend when LTL was regarded as a categorical variable (quartile) (P for trend = 0.03).ConclusionLTL was associated with cognitive capabilities among the elderly, implying that LTL might be a biomarker of cognitive aging.
Highlights
The aging global population presents a threat of increased disease and disability (Vos et al, 2012)
We aimed to investigate the relationship between leukocyte TL (LTL) and cognitive decline in the American elderly
After adjusting for age, cardiovascular disease (CAD) score, gender, race, body mass index (BMI), and educational level, LTL showed a positive correlation with digit symbol substitution test (DSST) score
Summary
The aging global population presents a threat of increased disease and disability (Vos et al, 2012). Successive somatic cell divisions gradually abrase telomere length (TL) during aging (Miu et al, 2019). This cumulative age-interrelated TL shortening conduces to cellular senescence, an attribute of aging (López et al, 2013; Xu et al, 2018). Judging from longer telomeres protect cells from cellular senescence and death, it is reasonable to expect that they would protect neuronal cells against oxidative stress and neurodegeneration that are related with cognitive decline (Collado et al, 2007). Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) decreases with age and is enhanced by inflammation and oxidative stress. Whether shorter LTL correlates with cognitive decline remains controversial
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