Leukocyte Telomere Length is Associated with Cognitive Performance in Healthy Women

Overview

Journal Neurobiol Aging

Publisher Elsevier

Specialties Geriatrics
Neurology
Physiology

Date 2008 Aug 23

PMID 18718693

Citations 60

Authors

A M Valdes

I J Deary

J Gardner

M Kimura

X Lu

T D Spector

A Aviv

L F Cherkas

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Age-related cognitive decline begins in mid-life and continues with advancing age. Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) shortens with age, and inflammation and oxidative stress enhance this process. Shorter LTL is associated with dementia.

Methods: The relationship between cognitive function and LTL was investigated in a cross-sectional study of 382 women (mean age 50.6 years, range 19-78), not diagnosed with any form of dementia or cognitive impairment, from the TwinsUK cohort using six tests from the Cambridge neuropsychological test automated battery (CANTAB).

Results: After adjusting for age and estimated prior intellectual ability, we observed significant correlations of LTL with episodic memory and associated learning (PAL, p=0.032), recognition memory for non-verbal patterns (DMS, p=0.007), and working memory capacity (SSP, p=0.003). In pairs of twins discordant for LTL the twin with longer telomeres also had significantly better DMS (p<0.05) and SSP (p<0.013) scores than their co-twin with shorter telomeres. The correlations between these two scores and LTL was significant both in women over the median mean age and in those below the median age, and remained significant after statistical adjustment for potential confounders.

Conclusions: Leukocyte telomere length correlates with a subset of measures of cognitive performance, suggesting that it might be a biomarker of cognitive aging in women before the onset of dementia.

Citing Articles

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Leukocyte telomere length and memory circuitry and cognition in early aging: Impact of sex and menopausal status.

Konishi K, Jacobs E, Aroner S, De Vivo I, Smith B, Scribner-Weiss B Horm Behav. 2024; 165:105631.

PMID: 39232410 PMC: 11438173. DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105631.

Telomere length in early childhood and its association with attention: a study in 4-6 year old children.

Croons H, Martens D, Vanderstukken C, Sleurs H, Rasking L, Peusens M Front Pediatr. 2024; 12:1358272.

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Association between telomere length and neuropsychological function at 4-5 years in children from the INMA project: a cross-sectional study.

Campos-Sanchez I, Navarrete-Munoz E, Hurtado-Pomares M, Julvez J, Lertxundi N, Martens D Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2024; 33(8):2803-2812.

PMID: 38246982 PMC: 11272730. DOI: 10.1007/s00787-023-02361-y.

Associations between telomere length, glucocorticoid receptor gene DNA methylation, volume of stress-related brain structures, and academic performance in middle-school-age children.

Burenkova O, Naumova O, Church J, Juranek J, Fletcher J, Grigorenko E Compr Psychoneuroendocrinol. 2024; 17:100223.

PMID: 38223236 PMC: 10787263. DOI: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2023.100223.

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