ArticleEpidemiology and infection2017
The impact of pathogen burden on leukocyte telomere length in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.
Article in Epidemiology and infection, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 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
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sero-epidemiological studies of pathogen burden: A scoping review.Wellcome open research · 2026Pooled it
- Infection and telomere length: A systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Article
- Telomere Length in a South African Population Co-Infected with HIV and Helminths.Current issues in molecular biology · 2024Article
- Effect of Cytomegalovirus on the Immune System: Implications for Aging and Mental Health.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2023Article
- Life Course Socioeconomic Disadvantage and the Aging Immune System: Findings From the Health and Retirement Study.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2021Article
- Pathogen burden and leukocyte telomere length in the United States.Immunity & ageing : I & A · 2020Article
- Association between micronutrients and maternal leukocyte telomere length in early pregnancy in Rwanda.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2020Article
- Cellular aging over 13 years associated with incident antinuclear antibody positivity in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.Journal of autoimmunity · 2019Article
- Helicobacter pylori infection, serum pepsinogens as markers of atrophic gastritis, and leukocyte telomere length: a population-based study.Human genomics · 2019Article
- Telomere length: population epidemiology and concordance in Australian children aged 11-12 years and their parents.BMJ open · 2019Article
- Early Senescence and Leukocyte Telomere Shortening in SCHIZOPHRENIA: A Role for Cytomegalovirus Infection?Brain sciences · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Several infections have been linked to telomere shortening and in some cases these associations have varied by sex. We assessed the association between seropositivity to four persistent pathogens (cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex virus-1, Helicobacter pylori, Chlamydia pneumoniae), and total pathogen burden on leukocyte telomere length in a diverse US sample. Data came from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, a population-based cohort study. We utilized cross-sectional survey data, and biological samples from participants tested for pathogens and telomere length (N = 163). Linear regression was used to examine the association between seropositivity for individual pathogens as well as total pathogen burden and telomere length, adjusting for various confounders. CMV seropositivity and increased total pathogen burden level were significantly associated with shorter telomere length among females (β = -0·1204 (standard error (s.e.) 0·06), P = 0·044) and (β = -0·1057 (s.e. = 0·05), P = 0·033), respectively. There was no statistically significant association among males. Our findings suggest that prevention or treatment of persistent pathogens, in particular CMV, may play an important role in reducing telomere shortening over the life course among women. Future research is needed to confirm these novel findings in larger longitudinal samples.
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Registered trials
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