Title | Telomere Length Among Older U.S. Adults: Differences by Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Age. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2017 |
Authors | Brown, LL, Needham, BL, Ailshire, JA |
Journal | J Aging Health |
Volume | 29 |
Issue | 8 |
Pagination | 1350-1366 |
Date Published | 2017 12 |
ISSN Number | 1552-6887 |
Keywords | Aged, Aging, Biomarkers, Female, Health Status Disparities, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Male, Minority Groups, Qualitative Research, Telomere, United States |
Abstract | OBJECTIVE: We examine race/ethnic, gender, and age differences in telomere length (TL) within a diverse, nationally representative sample of older adults. METHOD: Data come from 5,228 White, Black, and Hispanic respondents aged 54+ in the 2008 Health and Retirement Study. TL was assayed from saliva using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) by comparing telomere sequence copy number with a single gene copy number (T/S ratio). Linear regression was used to examine TL by race/ethnicity, gender, and age adjusting for social, economic, and health characteristics. RESULTS: Women had longer TL than men (p < .05). Blacks ( p < .05) and Hispanics ( p < .10) had longer TL than Whites. Black women and men had the longest TL relative to other groups ( p < .05), while White men had the shortest TL ( p < .05). Black women and Hispanic men showed greater differences in TL with age. DISCUSSION: Findings indicate social patterns in TL by race/ethnicity, gender, and age among older adults do not reflect differences observed in most population health outcomes. |
URL | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27469599 |
DOI | 10.1177/0898264316661390 |
User Guide Notes | |
Alternate Journal | J Aging Health |
Citation Key | 8566 |
PubMed ID | 27469599 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC5272874 |
Grant List | P30 AG043073 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States R00 AG039528 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States T32 AG000037 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States U01 AG009740 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States |