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Telomere length and obesity
Author(s) -
Zannolli Raffaella,
Mohn Angelika,
Buoni Sabrina,
Pietrobelli Angelo,
Messina Mario,
Chiarelli Francesco,
Miracco Clelia
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2008.00783.x
Subject(s) - medicine , bioelectrical impedance analysis , telomere , obesity , confidence interval , body mass index , endocrinology , gastroenterology , genetics , biology , dna
Aim: To assess the telomere length in apparently healthy obese and normal‐weight subjects. Methods: Seventy‐six Caucasian subjects were chosen including 53 children (age 8.2 ± 3.5 years) and 23 adults (age 40.5 ± 8.4 years). Among these, 22 (12 children and 10 adults) were obese with a body mass index (BMI, kg/m 2 ) > 2 SD above the norm. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), measured with a multiple frequency analyzer, was used to estimate body composition. DNA extraction from white blood cells was used to estimate the telomere length by detection of terminal restriction fragments (TRF). Results: No difference was found between the TRF lengths of obese and normal children. Obese adults had shorter TRF lengths than adults who were not obese (mean TRF length difference, −884.5; 95% confidence intervals −1727 to −41.8; t = 2.183; df = 17; p < 0.041). Conclusions: Obese adults have shorter telomeres than their normal‐weight counterparts, while this phenomenon is not present in childhood.