CONTEXT Telomeres are essential to preserve the integrity of the genome. Critically short telomeres lead to replicative cell senescence and chromosomal instability and may thereby increase cancer risk. OBJECTIVE To determine the association between baseline telomere length and incident cancer and cancer mortality. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Leukocyte telomere length was measured by q...

BACKGROUND/AIMS A number of genome-wide and candidate gene association studies have identified polymorphisms associated with telomere length in Caucasian populations. This study was conducted to determine the impacts of 17 polymorphisms identified in Caucasians on telomere length in a Korean population. METHODS Ninety-four healthy individuals were enrolled in this study. Relative telomere len...

PURPOSE Telomere length plays an important role in the maintenance of chromosomal stability and in tumorigenesis. We hypothesized that telomere length in peripheral WBC DNA obtained from healthy individuals would be a predictor of future risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Using a new assay to measure relative telomere length, monochrome multiplex quantitative PCR, wh...

BACKGROUND A previous case-control study of 100 individuals found that short telomere length was associated with a 28-fold increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). OBJECTIVES To test the hypothesis that short telomere length is associated with reduced lung function and an increased risk of COPD. METHODS Observational study of 46 396 individuals from the Danish general...

OBJECTIVE Shorter leukocyte telomeres are associated with atherosclerosis and predict future heart disease. The goal of the present study was to determine whether leukocyte telomere length is related to atherosclerotic plaque telomere length and whether it is associated with plaque characteristics or recurrence of disease. METHODS AND RESULTS Telomere length was measured by real-time quantita...

Telomere length shortens with aging, and short telomeres have been linked to a wide variety of pathologies. Previous studies suggested a discrepancy in age-associated telomere shortening rate estimated by cross-sectional studies versus the rate measured in longitudinal studies, indicating a potential bias in cross-sectional estimates. Intergenerational changes in initial telomere length, such a...

BACKGROUND Eukaryotic chromosomes end with telomeres, which in most organisms are composed of tandem DNA repeats associated with telomeric proteins. These DNA repeats are synthesized by the enzyme telomerase, whose activity in most human tissues is tightly regulated, leading to gradual telomere shortening with cell divisions. Shortening beyond a critical length causes telomere uncapping, manife...

OBJECTIVE Investigate the effects of 12 months of dietary weight loss and/or aerobic exercise on leukocyte telomere length in postmenopausal women. DESIGN AND METHODS Four hundred and thirty nine overweight or obese women (50-75 years) were randomized to: (i) dietary weight loss (N = 118); (ii) aerobic exercise (N = 117), (iii) diet + exercise (N = 117), or (iv) control (N = 87). The diet int...