02690nas a2200205 4500008004100000022001400041245010100055210006900156260001300225300001100238490000600249520206300255100002102318700002802339700001802367700001902385700002002404700002402424856003602448 2020 eng d a2589-936800aNon-esterified fatty acids and telomere length in older adults: The Cardiovascular Health Study.0 aNonesterified fatty acids and telomere length in older adults Th c2020 Dec a1000580 v83 a

Background: Telomeres shorten as organisms age, placing limits on cell proliferation and serving as a marker of biological aging. Non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs) are a key mediator of age-related metabolic abnormalities. We aimed to determine if NEFAs are associated with telomere length in community-living older adults.

Material and methods: We cross-sectionally studied 1648 participants of the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) who underwent concomitant telomere length measurement from a sample of 4715 participants who underwent measurement of circulating total fasting NEFAs in stored specimens from their 1992-3 clinic visit. We used linear regression and inverse probability weighting to model telomere length as a function of NEFAs with adjustment for age, gender, race, clinic, BMI, marital status, smoking status, alcohol intake, diabetes status, years of education, hypertension status, prevalent cardiovascular disease, C-reactive protein, total adiponectin, albumin, fetuin-A, fasting insulin, eGFR, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and general health status.

Results: Higher NEFAs were significantly associated with shorter telomere length, after adjusting for age, gender, race, and clinic site (β = -0.034; SE = 0.015;  = 0.02). Estimates remained similar in fully adjusted models where each SD of NEFA increment was associated with 0.042 kilobase (kb) pairs shorter telomere length (standard error = 0.016;  = 0.007); for comparison the coefficient for a single year of age in the same model was -0.017. These results were similar in strata of sex, and waist circumference although they tended to be strongest among participants in the youngest tertile of age (β = -0.079; SE = 0.029; P = 0.01).

Conclusions: In this population-based cohort of community-living elders, we observed a significant inverse association between NEFAs and telomere length. If confirmed, NEFAs may represent a promising target for interventions to slow biological aging.

1 aAhiawodzi, Peter1 aFitzpatrick, Annette, L1 aDjoussé, Luc1 aIx, Joachim, H1 aKizer, Jorge, R1 aMukamal, Kenneth, J uhttps://chs-nhlbi.org/node/8478