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Telomere length is associated with decline in grip strength in older persons aged 65 years and over

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Abstract

Telomere length (TL) attrition is associated with chronic diseases characterized by chronic inflammatory states. Inflammatory cytokines may play a role in sarcopenia. This study examines the association between TL and the diagnosis of sarcopenia based on appendicular skeletal mass index (ASMI), grip strength, walking speed, and chair stand in a prospective study over 5 years of 976 men and 1,030 women aged 65 years and over living in the community. TL in leukocytes was measured using the quantitative PCR method. TL was divided into quartiles, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was adopted to examine its association with components of sarcopenia, adjusting for age, education, body mass index, smoking, physical activity, and probable dementia. In both men and women, the percentage decline in grip strength over the 5-year period of follow-up was slower in those in the highest quartile of TL than those in the lower quartiles (multivariate-adjusted p < 0.05). No association between TL and the diagnosis of sarcopenia, ASMI, walking speed, or chair stand was observed. In conclusion, longer TL was associated with slower decline in grip strength in Chinese older persons.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine & Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China

    Jean Woo & Ruby Yu

  2. Department of Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China

    Nelson Tang

  3. Jockey Club Centre for Osteoporosis Care and Control, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China

    Jason Leung

  4. Department of Medicine & Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong, China

    Jean Woo

Authors
  1. Jean Woo
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  2. Ruby Yu
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  3. Nelson Tang
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  4. Jason Leung
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Correspondence to Jean Woo.

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Woo, J., Yu, R., Tang, N. et al. Telomere length is associated with decline in grip strength in older persons aged 65 years and over. AGE 36, 9711 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-014-9711-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-014-9711-7

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