Elsevier

Experimental Gerontology

Volume 170, December 2022, 111988
Experimental Gerontology

Association of leukocyte telomere length with perceived physical fatigability

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2022.111988Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • Provides evidence that leukocyte telomere length (LTL) may substitute for chronological age when predicting fatigability.

  • Shorter LTL was associated with higher physical fatigability; age-adjustment attenuated the association.

  • Association between LTL and fatigability varies with age, stronger correlation in older individuals.

  • LTL and fatigability relation was weaker for long-lived family members compared to spousal controls from general population.

Abstract

Background

Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a potential genomic marker of biological aging, but its relation to fatigability, a prognostic indicator of phenotypic aging (e.g., functional decline) is unknown. We hypothesized shorter LTL would predict greater perceived physical fatigability, but that this association would be attenuated by adjusting for chronological age.

Methods

Two generations of participants (N = 1997; 309 probands, 1688 offspring) were from the Long Life Family Study (age = 73.7 ± 10.4, range 60–108, 54.4 % women), a longitudinal cohort study of aging. LTL was assayed at baseline. Perceived physical fatigability was measured 8.0 ± 1.1 years later using the validated, self-administered 10-item Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale (PFS, 0–50, higher scores = greater fatigability). Generalized estimating equations were generated to model the association between LTL and PFS Physical scores.

Results

Prevalence of greater physical fatigability (PFS scores≥15) was 41.9 %. Using generalized estimating equations, a one kilobase pair shorter LTL was associated with higher PFS Physical scores (β = 1.8, p < .0001), accounting for family structure, and adjusting for field center, follow-up time, sex, and follow-up body mass index, physical activity, and chronic health conditions. When age was included as a covariate, the association was fully attenuated (β = 0.1, p = .78).

Conclusion

LTL may provide an alternative method for estimating an individual's lifetime exposure to chronic stressors, but does not appear to provide additional information not captured by chronological age. Further research is needed to characterize the interaction between age, LTL, and perceived fatigability, and develop a method of identifying individuals at risk for deleterious aging.

Keywords

Telomeres
Fatigue
Biological age
Family study

Data availability

Data will be made available on request.

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