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Select aging biomarkers based on telomere length and chronological age to build a biological age equation

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to build a biological age (BA) equation combining telomere length with chronological age (CA) and associated aging biomarkers. In total, 139 healthy volunteers were recruited from a Chinese Han cohort in Beijing. A genetic index, renal function indices, cardiovascular function indices, brain function indices, and oxidative stress and inflammation indices (C-reactive protein [CRP]) were measured and analyzed. A BA equation was proposed based on selected parameters, with terminal telomere restriction fragment (TRF) and CA as the two principal components. The selected aging markers included mitral annulus peak E anterior wall (MVEA), intima-media thickness (IMT), cystatin C (CYSC), D-dimer (DD), and digital symbol test (DST). The BA equation was: BA = −2.281TRF + 26.321CYSC + 0.025DD − 104.419MVEA + 34.863IMT − 0.265DST + 0.305CA + 26.346. To conclude, telomere length and CA as double benchmarks may be a new method to build a BA.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful for those who participated in this research. This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2103CB530800) and the National Key Technology R&D Program (No. 2011BAI10B00).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nephrology, State Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases (2011DAV00088), State Chronic Kidney Disease Clinical Research Center (2013BAI09B05), Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China

    Wei-Guang Zhang, De-Long Zhao, Shi-Min Jiang, Zuo-Xiang Li, Bo Fu, Guang-Yan Cai, Xue-Feng Sun & Xiang-Mei Chen

  2. Department of Nephrology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical University, Nanchang, China

    Shu-Ying Zhu

  3. Departments of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China

    Xiao-Juan Bai

  4. Department of Cardiovascular, Chinese PLA General Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases, Beijing, China

    Juan Li

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  1. Wei-Guang Zhang
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Correspondence to Xue-Feng Sun or Xiang-Mei Chen.

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Wei-Guang Zhang and Shu-Ying Zhu contributed equally to this work.

Appendix All indices (total 105)

Appendix All indices (total 105)

Life habits survey (20)

All subjects received a survey concerning their smoking and alcohol habits, dietary patterns, frequency of physical activity, and other lifestyle factors. Daily living conditions were assessed with the following general indicators: educational extent, marital status, occupation, number of family members, relationship between family members, housing situation, annual income, self-assessment of economic status, method of staying healthy, frequency of performing daily activities, participation in interest groups, daily living conditions, smoking status, smoking age, smoking amount, smoking cessation time, number of smokers in the household, number of smokers in the workplace, frequency of exercise for >30 min, and overall mental state over the last year.

Blood pressure and body weight measurements (5)

Measurements were made in a quiet environment after the subject had rested for >15 min. Measurements were made according to the Krotkoff 5 method. The pulse pressure was calculated as PP = systolic blood pressure (SBP) − diastolic blood pressure (DBP). The body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were measured simultaneously.

Cardiovascular ultrasound measurements (25)

Cardiovascular ultrasound measurements included the following parameters: left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF); mitral early and mitral late diastolic peak flow velocity (MVE and MVA, respectively); ratio of the peak velocity of early filling to the peak velocity of atrial filling (E/A); mitral valve annulus lateral wall, anterior wall, inferior wall, and ventricular septum of the peak velocity of early filling (MVEL, MVEA, MVEI, and MVES, respectively); mitral valve annulus lateral wall, anterior wall, inferior wall, and ventricular septum of the peak velocity of atrial filling (MVAL, MVAA, MVAI, and MVAS, respectively); maximum and minimum peak systolic velocity (SPVmax and SPVmin, respectively); maximum and minimum carotid artery end-diastolic velocity (EDVmax and EDVmin, respectively); maximum and minimum internal diameter of the carotid artery (Dmax and Dmin, respectively); maximum and minimum carotid artery intimal-medial thickness (IMTmax and IMTmin, respectively); and heart rate (HR).

Blood biochemistry measurements (13)

Blood biochemistry was examined through routine blood analysis and urinalysis procedures. Serum or urine levels of urea (UR), creatinine (Cr), triglyceride, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), alanine aminotransferase, alanine transaminase, total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), total bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL), and glucose (Glu) were measured.

Brain function measurement (7)

To assess brain function, the following factors were assessed: clock drawing test (CDT); stroop response time; stroop mistake number; trail making test (TMT), forward and backward digit span tasks (FDST and BDST, respectively); and mini-mental state examination (MMSE).

Genetics indicators (1)

Terminal telomere restriction fragment (TRF).

Urine (4)

The pH, specific gravity, and conductivity of urine were analyzed.

Routine blood (18)

Routine blood analyses included measurements of the following parameters: white blood cell count (WBC), lymphocytes, granulocytes (GRAN), red blood cell count (RBC), hemoglobin (HGB), hematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), red blood cell volume distribution width (RDW), platelet count (PLT), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), platelet hematocrit (PCT), monocytes (MON), and the relative percentage of lymphocytes (LRR%), granulocytes (RPR%), and monocytes (MPR%).

Special index (6)

Other tested indices included Cystatin C (CysC), interleukin 6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer (DD), fibrinogen (Fib), and GFR (dual GFR).

ECG index (7)

ST, T, QRS, QT, QTC, PR, and heart rate.

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Zhang, WG., Zhu, SY., Bai, XJ. et al. Select aging biomarkers based on telomere length and chronological age to build a biological age equation. AGE 36, 9639 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-014-9639-y

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