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Childhood obesity and leucocyte telomere length
Author(s) -
Lamprokostopoulou Agaristi,
Moschonis George,
Manios Yannis,
Critselis Elena,
Nicolaides Nicolas C.,
Stefa Alketa,
Koniari Eleni,
Gagos Sarantis,
Charmandari Evangelia
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
european journal of clinical investigation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.164
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1365-2362
pISSN - 0014-2972
DOI - 10.1111/eci.13178
Subject(s) - medicine , overweight , body mass index , obesity , confounding , diabetes mellitus , telomere , population , demography , pediatrics , endocrinology , environmental health , biology , dna , sociology , genetics
Background Obesity in adulthood is associated with decreased leucocyte telomere length (LTL), which is associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus type 2. The aim of our study was to investigate whether increased body mass index (BMI) is associated with decreased LTL in children and adolescents, and to identify other risk factors of shorter LTL in this population. Materials and methods A cross‐sectional study was conducted among 919 Greek children aged 9‐13 years (The Healthy Growth Study). Participants were classified as obese (n = 124), overweight (n = 276) or of normal BMI (n = 519). LTL was determined by monochrome multiplex quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction. Univariate and multivariable linear regression analyses were applied to determine the predictive factors of LTL. Results Both overweight and obese children had significantly shorter LTL than their normal‐BMI counterparts. Following adjustment for age, sex, total daily energy intake and average weekly physical activity (average total steps per day), increasing weight category was inversely associated with LTL in children and adolescents (β: −0.110 ± 0.035; P = .002). Conclusion Overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence are associated with shorter LTL, even following adjustment for potential confounding effects. Therefore, the increased BMI in childhood and adolescence may be associated with accelerated biological ageing and may have an adverse impact on future health in adulthood.