Is telomere length a biomarker for aging: cross-sectional evidence from the west of Scotland?

<h4>Background</h4>The search for biomarkers of aging (BoAs) has been largely unsuccessful to-date and there is widespread skepticism about the prospects of finding any that satisfy the criteria developed by the American Federation of Aging Research. This may be because the criteria are...

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Autores principales:	Geoff Der, G David Batty, Michaela Benzeval, Ian J Deary, Michael J Green, Liane McGlynn, Alan McIntyre, Tony Robertson, Paul G Shiels
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2012
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/643f40d598ef43a4bfa06bb5d62b5e73
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:643f40d598ef43a4bfa06bb5d62b5e732021-11-18T07:04:24ZIs telomere length a biomarker for aging: cross-sectional evidence from the west of Scotland?1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0045166https://doaj.org/article/643f40d598ef43a4bfa06bb5d62b5e732012-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/23028820/pdf/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203<h4>Background</h4>The search for biomarkers of aging (BoAs) has been largely unsuccessful to-date and there is widespread skepticism about the prospects of finding any that satisfy the criteria developed by the American Federation of Aging Research. This may be because the criteria are too strict or because a composite measure might be more appropriate. Telomere length has attracted a great deal of attention as a candidate BoA. We investigate whether it meets the criteria to be considered as a single biomarker of aging, and whether it makes a useful contribution to a composite measure.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>Using data from a large population based study, we show that telomere length is associated with age, with several measures of physical and cognitive functioning that are related to normal aging, and with three measures of overall health. In the majority of cases, telomere length adds predictive power to that of age, although it was not nearly as good a predictor overall. We used principal components analysis to form two composites from the measures of functioning, one including telomere length and the other not including it. These composite BoAs were better predictors of the health outcomes than chronological age. There was little difference between the two composites.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Telomere length does not satisfy the strict criteria for a BoA, but does add predictive power to that of chronological age. Equivocal results from previous studies might be due to lack of power or the choice of measures examined together with a focus on single biomarkers. Composite biomarkers of aging have the potential to outperform age and should be considered for future research in this area.Geoff DerG David BattyMichaela BenzevalIan J DearyMichael J GreenLiane McGlynnAlan McIntyreTony RobertsonPaul G ShielsPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 9, p e45166 (2012)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Geoff Der G David Batty Michaela Benzeval Ian J Deary Michael J Green Liane McGlynn Alan McIntyre Tony Robertson Paul G Shiels Is telomere length a biomarker for aging: cross-sectional evidence from the west of Scotland?
description	<h4>Background</h4>The search for biomarkers of aging (BoAs) has been largely unsuccessful to-date and there is widespread skepticism about the prospects of finding any that satisfy the criteria developed by the American Federation of Aging Research. This may be because the criteria are too strict or because a composite measure might be more appropriate. Telomere length has attracted a great deal of attention as a candidate BoA. We investigate whether it meets the criteria to be considered as a single biomarker of aging, and whether it makes a useful contribution to a composite measure.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>Using data from a large population based study, we show that telomere length is associated with age, with several measures of physical and cognitive functioning that are related to normal aging, and with three measures of overall health. In the majority of cases, telomere length adds predictive power to that of age, although it was not nearly as good a predictor overall. We used principal components analysis to form two composites from the measures of functioning, one including telomere length and the other not including it. These composite BoAs were better predictors of the health outcomes than chronological age. There was little difference between the two composites.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Telomere length does not satisfy the strict criteria for a BoA, but does add predictive power to that of chronological age. Equivocal results from previous studies might be due to lack of power or the choice of measures examined together with a focus on single biomarkers. Composite biomarkers of aging have the potential to outperform age and should be considered for future research in this area.
format	article
author	Geoff Der G David Batty Michaela Benzeval Ian J Deary Michael J Green Liane McGlynn Alan McIntyre Tony Robertson Paul G Shiels
author_facet	Geoff Der G David Batty Michaela Benzeval Ian J Deary Michael J Green Liane McGlynn Alan McIntyre Tony Robertson Paul G Shiels
author_sort	Geoff Der
title	Is telomere length a biomarker for aging: cross-sectional evidence from the west of Scotland?
title_short	Is telomere length a biomarker for aging: cross-sectional evidence from the west of Scotland?
title_full	Is telomere length a biomarker for aging: cross-sectional evidence from the west of Scotland?
title_fullStr	Is telomere length a biomarker for aging: cross-sectional evidence from the west of Scotland?
title_full_unstemmed	Is telomere length a biomarker for aging: cross-sectional evidence from the west of Scotland?
title_sort	is telomere length a biomarker for aging: cross-sectional evidence from the west of scotland?
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2012
url	https://doaj.org/article/643f40d598ef43a4bfa06bb5d62b5e73
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Is telomere length a biomarker for aging: cross-sectional evidence from the west of Scotland?

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