Telomere length, oxidative stress, and antioxidant status in elderly men in Zutphen and Crete.

J.M. de Vos-Houben, N.R. Ottenheim, A. Kafatos, B. Buijsse, G.J. Hageman, D. Kromhout, E.J. Giltay*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The incidence of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases is lower in Mediterranean Southern Europe than Northern Europe. This may be due to a lower level of oxidative stress and a higher antioxidant status in people living around the Mediterranean Sea. Oxidative stress may influence the rate of shortening of telomeres, the nucleoprotein structures at the ends of chromosomes. We compared leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in elderly men from Northern and Southern Europe and investigated the possible relationship between LTL and indicators of oxidative stress and antioxidant status. We examined 143 elderly Dutch men (mean age 83.9 years) and 109 Greek elderly men (mean age 84.6 years) and found that the Greek men had significantly longer telomeres (geometric mean 4.95kbp, 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.71-5.23kbp) compared to the men from the Netherlands (4.76kbp, 95% CI: 4.55-4.98kbp; P=0.001). Age was inversely associated with LTL (beta=-0.10, P=0.31 in Cretan men and beta=-0.19, P=0.02 in Dutch men). In all men LTL was not related to indicators of oxidative stress and plasma antioxidants. However, the endogenous antioxidants serum albumin (beta=0.18, P=0.007) and uric acid (beta=0.13, P=0.045) were positively associated with LTL. The age-adjusted difference between Crete and Zutphen was reduced by 25% after adjustment for serum albumin and uric acid. We conclude that Greek elderly men have significantly longer LTL compared to Dutch counterparts. The endogenous antioxidants albumin and uric acid were positively associated with longer telomeres.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)373-377
Number of pages5
JournalMechanisms of Ageing and Development
Volume133
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2012

Keywords

  • Telomere length
  • Elderly men
  • Oxidative stress
  • Antioxidants
  • OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY-DISEASE
  • CORONARY-HEART-DISEASE
  • PERIPHERAL-BLOOD CELLS
  • CARDIOVASCULAR-DISEASE
  • CANCER
  • ALBUMIN
  • PREVENTION
  • LEUKOCYTES
  • MORTALITY
  • SURVIVAL

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