Cognitive Performance and Leukocyte Telomere Length in Two Narrow Age-range Cohorts: a Population Study

Overview

Journal BMC Geriatr

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Geriatrics

Date 2010 Sep 17

PMID 20843367

Citations 23

Authors

Karen A Mather

Anthony F Jorm

Kaarin J Anstey

Peter J Milburn

Simon Easteal

Helen Christensen

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Cognitive function and telomere length both decline with age. A correlation between these two measures would suggest that they may be influenced by the same underlying age-related biological process. Several studies suggest telomere length may be positively correlated with cognitive performance but the evidence is equivocal. In this report, the relationships between telomere length and cognitive performance at Wave 2 and cognitive change from Wave 1 to Wave 2 are assessed in two narrow age-range population cohorts.

Methods: We tested the hypothesis that leukocyte telomere length correlates positively with cognitive performance and cognitive decline in two community cohorts of middle-aged (n = 351, 44-49 years) and older (n = 295, 64-70 years) adults, who participated in two waves of a longitudinal study undertaken in the Canberra-Queanbeyan region of Australia. Telomere length was estimated at Wave 2. Cognitive performance was measured using the Symbol Digit Modalities Test, the immediate recall test of the California Verbal Learning Test, reaction time (simple & choice) and the Trails Test Part B.

Results: Cross-sectionally at Wave 2, telomere length correlated with Symbol Digit Modalities Test scores (men) and simple reaction time (women) for the older cohort only, although the latter finding was in the opposite direction to that hypothesised. Telomere length measured at Wave 2 was not associated with cognitive change from Wave 1 to Wave 2 for either cohort, except for two associations of small magnitude (immediate recall in the older cohort, choice reaction time in older women), which were also in the contrary direction to that predicted.

Conclusions: These results do not give strong support to the hypothesis that leukocyte telomere length is associated with either levels of cognitive performance or age-related cognitive change.

Citing Articles

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.

PMID: 38919841 PMC: 11196792. DOI: 10.3389/fped.2024.1358272.

Associations between , 1 Gene Polymorphisms and Relative Leukocyte Telomere Length with Myopia and Its Degree.

Duseikaite M, Vilkeviciute A, Kunceviciene E, Gedvilaite G, Kriauciuniene L, Liutkeviciene R Biomedicines. 2024; 12(3).

PMID: 38540151 PMC: 10968307. DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12030538.

Analysis of Telomere Length and Its Implication in Neurocognitive Functions in Elderly Women.

Sanchez-Gonzalez J, Sanchez-Rodriguez J, Juarez-Vela R, Ruiz de Vinaspre-Hernandez R, Gonzalez-Sarmiento R, Martin-Vallejo F J Clin Med. 2022; 11(6).

PMID: 35330058 PMC: 8955297. DOI: 10.3390/jcm11061728.

Short Leukocyte Telomeres, But Not Telomere Attrition Rates, Predict Memory Decline in the 20-Year Longitudinal Betula Study.

Pudas S, Josefsson M, Nordin Adolfsson A, Landfors M, Kauppi K, Veng-Taasti L J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2020; 76(6):955-963.

PMID: 33367599 PMC: 8140048. DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glaa322.

References

Saunders J, Aasland O, Babor T, De la Fuente J, Grant M . Development of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): WHO Collaborative Project on Early Detection of Persons with Harmful Alcohol Consumption--II. Addiction. 1993; 88(6):791-804. DOI: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1993.tb02093.x. View

Nawrot T, Staessen J, Gardner J, Aviv A . Telomere length and possible link to X chromosome. Lancet. 2004; 363(9408):507-10. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(04)15535-9. View

Njajou O, Cawthon R, Damcott C, Wu S, Ott S, Garant M . Telomere length is paternally inherited and is associated with parental lifespan. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007; 104(29):12135-9. PMC: 1924539. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0702703104. View

von Zglinicki T, Martin-Ruiz C . Telomeres as biomarkers for ageing and age-related diseases. Curr Mol Med. 2005; 5(2):197-203. DOI: 10.2174/1566524053586545. View

Brouilette S, Singh R, Thompson J, Goodall A, Samani N . White cell telomere length and risk of premature myocardial infarction. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2003; 23(5):842-6. DOI: 10.1161/01.ATV.0000067426.96344.32. View

Stafford M, Hemingway H, Stansfeld S, Brunner E, Marmot M . Behavioural and biological correlates of physical functioning in middle aged office workers: the UK whitehall II study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1998; 52(6):353-8. PMC: 1756727. DOI: 10.1136/jech.52.6.353. View

Salthouse T . Decomposing age correlations on neuropsychological and cognitive variables. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2009; 15(5):650-61. PMC: 3633567. DOI: 10.1017/S1355617709990385. View

Anstey K, Dear K, Christensen H, Jorm A . Biomarkers, health, lifestyle, and demographic variables as correlates of reaction time performance in early, middle, and late adulthood. Q J Exp Psychol A. 2005; 58(1):5-21. DOI: 10.1080/02724980443000232. View

Sitte N, Saretzki G, von Zglinicki T . Accelerated telomere shortening in fibroblasts after extended periods of confluency. Free Radic Biol Med. 1998; 24(6):885-93. DOI: 10.1016/s0891-5849(97)00363-8. View

10.

Shen J, Terry M, Gurvich I, Liao Y, Senie R, Santella R . Short telomere length and breast cancer risk: a study in sister sets. Cancer Res. 2007; 67(11):5538-44. DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-06-3490. View

11.

Goldberg D, Bridges K, Grayson D . Detecting anxiety and depression in general medical settings. BMJ. 1988; 297(6653):897-9. PMC: 1834427. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.297.6653.897. View

12.

OSullivan J, Risques R, Mandelson M, Chen L, Brentnall T, Bronner M . Telomere length in the colon declines with age: a relation to colorectal cancer?. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2006; 15(3):573-7. DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-05-0542. View

13.

Cohen J . A power primer. Psychol Bull. 2009; 112(1):155-9. DOI: 10.1037//0033-2909.112.1.155. View

14.

Farzaneh-Far R, Cawthon R, Na B, Browner W, Schiller N, Whooley M . Prognostic value of leukocyte telomere length in patients with stable coronary artery disease: data from the Heart and Soul Study. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2008; 28(7):1379-84. PMC: 2675880. DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.108.167049. View

15.

Folstein M, Folstein S, McHugh P . "Mini-mental state". A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. J Psychiatr Res. 1975; 12(3):189-98. DOI: 10.1016/0022-3956(75)90026-6. View

16.

Satoh H, Hiyama K, Takeda M, Awaya Y, Watanabe K, Ihara Y . Telomere shortening in peripheral blood cells was related with aging but not with white blood cell count. Jpn J Hum Genet. 1996; 41(4):413-7. DOI: 10.1007/BF01876332. View

17.

Mather K, Jorm A, Milburn P, Tan X, Easteal S, Christensen H . No associations between telomere length and age-sensitive indicators of physical function in mid and later life. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2010; 65(8):792-9. DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glq050. View

18.

Lee D, Im J, Kim J, Lee H, Shim J . Effect of long-term hormone therapy on telomere length in postmenopausal women. Yonsei Med J. 2005; 46(4):471-9. PMC: 2815830. DOI: 10.3349/ymj.2005.46.4.471. View

19.

Petersen S, Saretzki G, von Zglinicki T . Preferential accumulation of single-stranded regions in telomeres of human fibroblasts. Exp Cell Res. 1998; 239(1):152-60. DOI: 10.1006/excr.1997.3893. View

20.

Samani N, Boultby R, Butler R, Thompson J, Goodall A . Telomere shortening in atherosclerosis. Lancet. 2001; 358(9280):472-3. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(01)05633-1. View