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Leukocyte telomere length and hemostatic factors in a South African cohort: the SABPA Study
Author(s) -
Känel R.,
Malan N. T.,
Hamer M.,
Westhuizen F. H.,
Malan L.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of thrombosis and haemostasis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.947
H-Index - 178
eISSN - 1538-7836
pISSN - 1538-7933
DOI - 10.1111/jth.12733
Subject(s) - fibrinogen , telomere , medicine , confidence interval , gastroenterology , plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 , odds ratio , von willebrand factor , immunology , plasminogen activator , biology , genetics , platelet , gene
Summary Background Incident atherothrombotic disease is predicted by leukocyte telomere length, a marker of biological age, and hemostatic factor levels, indicating a hypercoagulable state. We hypothesized that shorter telomeres are associated with elevated circulating levels of hemostatic factors. Methods We examined 171 South African (black) and 182 Caucasian (white) schoolteachers (mean age ± standard deviation, 48.5 ± 9.0 years; 50.4% women). Levels of fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor antigen ( VWF :Ag), D‐dimer and plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1 antigen ( PAI ‐1:Ag) were measured in plasma, and values were log‐transformed before analysis. Relative average telomere length (content of telomere PCR product/content of human β‐globin PCR product ratio, i.e. telomere/single‐copy gene ratio) was assessed with multiplex quantitative real‐time PCR s. Multivariate analyses included demographics, metabolic factors, health behavior, and medication. Results Africans had shorter mean telomere length (0.82, 95% confidence interval [ CI ] 0.79–0.86 vs. 1.07, 95% CI 1.04–1.10) and higher fibrinogen ( B = 0.085, 95% CI 0.061–0.109) and PAI ‐1:Ag ( B = 0.255, 95% CI 0.206–0.303) levels, but lower VWF :Ag levels ( B = − 0.059, 95% CI − 0.089 to − 0.028), than Caucasians. Shorter telomeres were associated with higher fibrinogen ( B = − 0.045, 95% CI − 0.088 to − 0.001), VWF :Ag ( B = − 0.137, 95% CI − 0.193 to − 0.081) and D‐dimer ( B = − 0.201, 95% CI − 0.377 to − 0.025) levels, conditional on ethnicity. An interaction emerged between ethnicity and telomere length for VWF :Ag level; that is, shorter telomeres were associated with higher VWF :Ag levels in Caucasians ( B = − 0.170, 95% CI − 0.232 to − 0.108) but not in Africans. Conclusions Shorter telomeres were associated with increased levels of several hemostatic factors after adjustment for confounding variables, whereby ethnicity partially moderated this effect. A relationship between accelerated biological aging and hypercoagulability might contribute to the risk of premature atherothrombotic events.