ArticlePloS one
HIV Infection Is Associated with Shortened Telomere Length in Ugandans with Suspected Tuberculosis.
Article in PloS one. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Telomere length dynamics in adults living with HIV: A systematic review.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Pooled it
- Infection and telomere length: A systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Telomere length analysis from minimally-invasively collected samples: Methods development and meta-analysis of the validity of different sampling techniques: American Journal of Human Biology.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2021Pooled it
- Elimination of senescent cells with senolytic drugs as adjunctive host-directed therapy reduces tuberculosis progression in mice.Nature communications · 2026Article
- The Impact of HIV and Parasite Single Infection and Coinfection on Telomere Length: A Systematic Review.Current issues in molecular biology · 2024Review
- Telomere Length in a South African Population Co-Infected with HIV and Helminths.Current issues in molecular biology · 2024Article
- Infection and telomere length: a systematic review protocol.BMJ open · 2024Article
- TERT single nucleotide polymorphism rs2736098 but not rs2736100 is associated with telomere length in HIV-infected patients on cART.Molecular biology reports · 2024Article
- Telomere Length, Health, and Mortality in a Cohort of Older Black South African Adults.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2023Article
- Association between Combination Antiretroviral Therapy and Telomere Length in People Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus.Biology · 2023Article
- Article
- Review
- Impaired differentiation of small airway basal stem/progenitor cells in people living with HIV.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Shorter Granulocyte Telomeres Among Children and Adolescents With Perinatally Acquired Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection and Chronic Lung Disease in Zimbabwe.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2021Article
- Monocyte/Macrophage-Mediated Innate Immunity in HIV-1 Infection: From Early Response to Late Dysregulation and Links to Cardiovascular Diseases Onset.Virologica Sinica · 2021Review
- Telomere length and outcome of treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis in a gold mining community.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- TERT rs2736100 and TERC rs16847897 genotypes moderate the association between internalizing mental disorders and accelerated telomere length attrition among HIV+ children and adolescents in Uganda.BMC medical genomics · 2021Article
- A Modified Alcohol SBI for Use among Older Adults Living with HIV.Western journal of nursing research · 2020Article
- Association between common telomere length genetic variants and telomere length in an African population and impacts of HIV and TB.Journal of human genetics · 2019Article
- Internalizing Mental Disorders and Accelerated Cellular Aging Among Perinatally HIV-Infected Youth in Uganda.Frontiers in genetics · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
introductionHIV infection is a risk factor for opportunistic pneumonias such as tuberculosis (TB) and for age-associated health complications. Short telomeres, markers of biological aging, are also associated with an increased risk of age-associated diseases and mortality. Our goals were to use a single cohort of HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected individuals hospitalized with pneumonia to assess whether shortened telomere length was associated with HIV infection, TB diagnosis, and 2-month mortality.
methodsThis was a sub-study of the IHOP Study, a prospective observational study. Participants consisted of 184 adults admitted to Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda who underwent evaluation for suspected TB and were followed for 2 months. Standardized questionnaires were administered to collect demographic and clinical data. PBMCs were isolated and analyzed using quantitative PCR to determine telomere length. The association between HIV infection, demographic and clinical characteristics, and telomere length was assessed, as were the associations between telomere length, TB diagnosis and 2-month mortality. Variables with a P≤0.2 in bivariate analysis were included in multivariate models.
resultsNo significant demographic or clinical differences were observed between the HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected subjects. Older age (P<0.0001), male gender (P = 0.04), total pack-years smoked (P<0.001), alcohol consumption in the past year (P = 0.12), and asthma (P = 0.08) were all associated (P≤0.2) with shorter telomere length in bivariate analysis. In multivariate analysis adjusting for these five variables, HIV-positive participants had significantly shorter telomeres than HIV-negative participants (β = -0.0621, 95% CI -0.113 to -0.011, P = 0.02). Shortened telomeres were not associated with TB or short-term mortality.
conclusionsThe association between HIV infection and shorter telomeres suggests that HIV may play a role in cellular senescence and biological aging and that shorter telomeres may be involved in age-associated health complications seen in this population. The findings indicate a need to further research the impact of HIV on aging.
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.