ArticleThe Journal of infectious diseases2017
Persistent Herpesvirus Infections and Telomere Attrition Over 3 Years in the Whitehall II Cohort.
Article in The Journal of infectious diseases, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 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
40 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 57 citations in OpenAlex.
- Infection and telomere length: A systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- The Role of Herpes Viruses in Pulmonary Fibrosis.Frontiers in medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Herpes simplex virus: global infection prevalence and incidence estimates, 2016.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2020Pooled it
- Review
- Triple Latency as a Driver of Chronic Inflammation: An Integrative View of HSV, EBV, and CMV Persistence in Immunocompetent Hosts.Clinics and practice · 2026Review
- Telomere Length and COVID-19 Severity: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study Across the Clinical Spectrum.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Immunosenescence and cancer: molecular hallmarks, tumor microenvironment remodeling, and age-specific immunotherapy challenges.Journal of hematology & oncology · 2025Review
- Neurotropic Viruses as Acute and Insidious Drivers of Aging.Biomolecules · 2025Review
- [Mechanism and significance of cell senescence induced by viral infection].Zhejiang da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Zhejiang University. Medical sciences · 2025Review
- Revealing the Hidden Impacts: Insights into Biological Aging and Long-Term Effects in Pauci- and Asymptomatic COVID-19 Healthcare Workers.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Infection and telomere length: a systematic review protocol.BMJ open · 2024Article
- The Impact of Cytomegalovirus Infection on Ulcerative Colitis Relapse: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of inflammation research · 2024Article
- Article
- Therapeutic Implications of the Microbial Hypothesis of Mental Illness.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2023Review
- Effect of Cytomegalovirus on the Immune System: Implications for Aging and Mental Health.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2023Article
- Viruses associated with ill health in wild chimpanzees.American journal of primatology · 2022Article
- Are the Healthy Vulnerable? Cytomegalovirus Seropositivity in Healthy Adults Is Associated With Accelerated Epigenetic Age and Immune Dysregulation.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Stress and telomere shortening: Insights from cellular mechanisms.Ageing research reviews · 2022Review
- Risk Factors of Cytomegalovirus Reactivation in Ulcerative Colitis Patients: A Meta-Analysis.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Genetic, Environmental and Lifestyle Determinants of Accelerated Telomere Attrition as Contributors to Risk and Severity of Multiple Sclerosis.Biomolecules · 2021Review
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The determinants of telomere attrition, a potential marker of cellular aging, are not well understood. Persistent herpesvirus infections including cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection may be particularly important for telomere dynamics via mechanisms such as inflammation, oxidative stress, and their impact on peripheral blood lymphocyte composition. This study examined the association of 4 human herpesviruses (CMV, herpes simplex virus type 1, human herpesvirus type 6, and Epstein-Barr virus) with change in leukocyte telomere length (LTL) over 3 years in 400 healthy individuals (aged 53-76 years) from the Whitehall II cohort. CMV, herpes simplex virus type 1, and human herpesvirus 6 infection were independently associated with greater 3-year LTL attrition, with no association found for Epstein-Barr virus. The magnitudes of these associations were large, for example, the equivalent of almost 12 years of chronological age for those CMV seropositive. Seropositivity to more herpesviruses was additively associated with greater LTL attrition (3 herpesviruses vs none, β = -0.07 and P = .02; 4 infections vs none, β = -0.14 and P < .001). Higher immunoglobulin G antibody levels among those seropositive to CMV were also associated with shorter LTL at follow-up. These associations were robust to adjustment for age, sex, employment grade, body mass index, and smoking status. These results suggest that exposure to infectious agents should be an important consideration in future studies of telomere dynamics.
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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.