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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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2012-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0045166&type=printable |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
| id | doaj-art-643f40d598ef43a4bfa06bb5d62b5e73 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
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| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj-art-643f40d598ef43a4bfa06bb5d62b5e732025-08-20T02:30:56ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032012-01-0179e4516610.1371/journal.pone.0045166Is telomere length a biomarker for aging: cross-sectional evidence from the west of Scotland?Geoff DerG David BattyMichaela BenzevalIan J DearyMichael J GreenLiane McGlynnAlan McIntyreTony RobertsonPaul G Shiels<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.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0045166&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | 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? PLoS ONE |
| title | 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_short | 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 |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0045166&type=printable |
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