Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30535086›Full record

SynthesisThe American journal of clinical nutrition2018

Body mass index is negatively associated with telomere length: a collaborative cross-sectional meta-analysis of 87 observational studies.

Marij Gielen, Geja J Hageman, Evangelia E Antoniou, Katarina Nordfjall, Massimo Mangino, Muthuswamy Balasubramanyam, Tim de Meyer, Audrey E Hendricks, Erik J Giltay, Steven C Hunt and 61 more

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 95 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
95citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

95 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  19. [Association between DNA methylation clock and obesity-related indicators: A longitudinal twin study].Beijing da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Peking University. Health sciences · 2025
    Article
  20. Review

35 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

71 authors.

Marij GielenDepartments of Complex Genetics.
Geja J HagemanToxicology, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht University, Netherlands.
Evangelia E AntoniouDepartment of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Netherlands.
Katarina NordfjallDepartment of Medicine, Östersund Hospital, Östersund, Sweden.
Massimo ManginoTwin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Muthuswamy BalasubramanyamCell and Molecular Biology, Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, Gopalapuram, Chennai, India.
Tim de MeyerDepartment of Mathematical Modeling, Statistics, and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Audrey E HendricksPopulation Sciences Branch of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), NIH, NHLBI's Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA.
Erik J GiltayDepartment of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.
Steven C HuntCardiovascular Genetics Division, Department of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
Jennifer A NettletonDivision of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX.
Klelia D SalpeaDepartment of Molecular Biology and Genetics, BSRC "Alexander Fleming," Athens, Greece.
Vanessa A DiazDepartment of Family Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
Ramin Farzaneh-FarDivision of Cardiology, San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, CA.
Gil AtzmonDepartment of Medicine and Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, and Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Science, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Sarah E HarrisCenter for Cognitive Aging and Cognitive Epidemiology and Medical Genetics Section and Center for Genomics and Experimental Medicine and MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Lifang HouDepartment of Preventive Medicine and Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.
David GilleyDepartment of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN.
Iiris HovattaDepartment of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Jeremy D KarkEpidemiology Unit, Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel.
Hisham NassarDepartment of Cardiology, Hadassah University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
David J KurzDepartment of Cardiology, Triemli Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland.
Karen A MatherCentre for Healthy Brain Ageing, Psychiatry, UNSW Australia, Sydney, Australia.
Peter WilleitDepartment of Neurology, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria, and Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Yun-Ling ZhengDepartment of Oncology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC.
Sofia PavanelloDepartment of Cardiac, Thoracic, and Vascular Sciences, Unit of Occupational Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Ellen W DemerathDivision of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, MN.
Line RodeThe Copenhagen General Population Study, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Daniel BunoutInstitute of Nutrition and Food Technology University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Andrew SteptoeDepartment of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Lisa BoardmanDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN.
Amelia MartiDepartment of Nutrition, Food Science, and Physiology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
Belinda NeedhamDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Wei ZhengDivision of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN.
Rosalind Ramsey-GoldmanDivision of Rheumatology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
Andrew J PellattDepartment of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
Jaakko KaprioDepartment of Public Health.
Jonathan N HofmannDivision of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD.
Christian GiegerResearch Unit of Molecular Epidemiology and Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
Giuseppe PaolissoDepartment of Medical, Surgical, Neurological, Metabolic, and Geriatric Sciences, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
Jacob B H HjelmborgDepartment of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Biodemography, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense C, Denmark.
Lisa MirabelloDepartment of Medical, Surgical, Neurological, Metabolic, and Geriatric Sciences, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
Teresa SeemanDepartment of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.
Jason WongStanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.
Pim van der HarstDepartment of Cardiology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.
Linda BroerDepartment of Internal Medicine, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Florian KronenbergDivision of Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Medical Genetics, Molecular, and Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Barbara KolleritsDivision of Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Medical Genetics, Molecular, and Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Timo StrandbergUniversity of Helsinki and Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Center for Life Course Epidemiology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Dan T A EisenbergDepartment of Anthropology and Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Catherine DugganThe Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA.
Josine E VerhoevenDepartment of Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Roxanne SchaakxsDepartment of Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Raffaela ZannolliPediatrics Unit, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria, Senese/University of Siena, Policlinico Le Scotte, Siena, Italy.
Rosana M R Dos ReisDepartment of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
Fadi J CharcharSchool of Science and Technology, Federation University Australia, Department of Physiology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, and Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom.
Maciej TomaszewskiDivision of Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Biology, and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Ute MonsDivision of Clinical Epidemiology and Aging Research.
Ilja DemuthCharité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin (corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Lipid Clinic at the Interdisciplinary Metabolism Center, Berlin, Germany.
Andrea Elena Iglesias MolliCONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo (INIGEM). Laboratorio de Diabetes y Metabolismo, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Guo ChengDepartment of Nutrition, Food Safety, and Toxicology, West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Dmytro KrasnienkovDepartment of Epigenetics, DF Chebotarev State Institute of Gerontology NAMS of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Bianca D'AntonoResearch Center, Montreal Heart Institute, and Psychology Department, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Marek KasielskiBases of Clinical Medicine Teaching Center, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
Barry J McDonnellCardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
Richard Paul EbsteinDepartment of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Kristina SundquistCenter for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, Region Skåne, Lund, Sweden.
Guillaume ParePopulation Health Research Institute and McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Michael ChongPopulation Health Research Institute and McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Maurice P ZeegersDepartments of Complex Genetics.
TELOMAAS group

Funding

Two-Spirit Films in Indigenous Cancer HealthP30CA016056 · NCI · ROSWELL PARK CANCER INSTITUTE CORP · PI Dean G. Tang · 1985 to 2026
$116.6M
UNC-CH CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH &SUSCEPTIBILITYP30ES010126 · NIEHS · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI Stephanie Engel · 2001 to 2026
$36.3M
UT Southwestern Center for Translational Medicine (UL1/KL2/TL1)UL1TR001105 · NCATS · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI TOTO, ROBERT DANIEL · 2013 to 2017
$24.5M
The Strong Heart Study, Phase VU01HL041654 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA HLTH SCIENCES CTR · PI LEE, ELISA TAN · 1988 to 2013
$19.2M
SUBCUTANEOUS FAT, BLOOD LIPIDS AND SUBSEQUENT OUTCOMER01HD012252 · NICHD · WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY · PI CZERWINSKI, STEFAN A. · 1985 to 2014
$17.3M
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE IN THE PIMA INDIANSU01HL041642 · NHLBI · MEDSTAR RESEARCH INSTITUTE · PI HOWARD, BARBARA V · 1988 to 2013
$12.6M
THE GENETICS OF VULNERABILITY TO NICOTINE ADDICTIONSR01DA012854 · NIDA · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI MADDEN, PAMELA ANN · 2000 to 2013
$10.4M
STRONG HEART FAMILY STUDYU01HL065520 · NHLBI · TEXAS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE · PI COLE, SHELLEY A · 2000 to 2011
$8.9M
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE IN SIOUX INDIANSU01HL041652 · NHLBI · U.S. PHS INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE · PI BEST, LYLE G · 1988 to 2013
$7.9M
Physical Activity Changes & Thersholds: Quality of Life and Outcomes in Knee OAP60AR064464 · NIAMS · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO · PI SHARMA, LEENA · 2013 to 2017
$4.5M
POSTDOCTORAL RHEUMATOLOGY TRAININGT32AR007611 · NIAMS · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO · PI PERLMAN, HARRIS R · 2001 to 2022
$4.4M
CARDIOVASCULAR EVALUATION--STRONG HEART STUDY PHASE IVU01HL065521 · NHLBI · WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV · PI DEVEREUX, RICHARD B · 2000 to 2013
$4.3M
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research CouncilBritish Heart Foundation FS/06/053British Heart Foundation PG/12/9/29376British Heart Foundation PG/16/49/32176British Heart Foundation RG008/08British Heart Foundation RG/10/005/28296Intramural NIH HHS Z01 ES044005Medical Research CouncilNCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001105NCI NIH HHS P30 CA016056NCRR NIH HHS P20 RR020649NHLBI NIH HHS N01 HC095159NHLBI NIH HHS N01 HC095165NHLBI NIH HHS N01 HC095169NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL076831NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL116381NHLBI NIH HHS R21 HL092363NHLBI NIH HHS U01 HL041642NHLBI NIH HHS U01 HL041652NHLBI NIH HHS U01 HL041654NHLBI NIH HHS U01 HL065520NHLBI NIH HHS U01 HL065521NIAMS NIH HHS K24 AR002138NIAMS NIH HHS P60 AR030692NIAMS NIH HHS P60 AR064464NIAMS NIH HHS T32 AR007611NIA NIH HHS K01 AG034259NIA NIH HHS R01 AG033592NIA NIH HHS R03 AG023251NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD012252NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA012854NIDA NIH HHS R56 DA012854NIDDK NIH HHS K01 DK082729NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK091369NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES010126Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Even before the onset of age-related diseases, obesity might be a contributing factor to the cumulative burden of oxidative stress and chronic inflammation throughout the life course. Obesity may therefore contribute to accelerated shortening of telomeres. Consequently, obese persons are more likely to have shorter telomeres, but the association between body mass index (BMI) and leukocyte telomere length (TL) might differ across the life span and between ethnicities and sexes. Objective: A collaborative cross-sectional meta-analysis of observational studies was conducted to investigate the associations between BMI and TL across the life span. Design: Eighty-seven distinct study samples were included in the meta-analysis capturing data from 146,114 individuals. Study-specific age- and sex-adjusted regression coefficients were combined by using a random-effects model in which absolute [base pairs (bp)] and relative telomere to single-copy gene ratio (T/S ratio) TLs were regressed against BMI. Stratified analysis was performed by 3 age categories ("young": 18-60 y; "middle": 61-75 y; and "old": >75 y), sex, and ethnicity. Results: Each unit increase in BMI corresponded to a -3.99 bp (95% CI: -5.17, -2.81 bp) difference in TL in the total pooled sample; among young adults, each unit increase in BMI corresponded to a -7.67 bp (95% CI: -10.03, -5.31 bp) difference. Each unit increase in BMI corresponded to a -1.58 × 10(-3) unit T/S ratio (0.16% decrease; 95% CI: -2.14 × 10(-3), -1.01 × 10(-3)) difference in age- and sex-adjusted relative TL in the total pooled sample; among young adults, each unit increase in BMI corresponded to a -2.58 × 10(-3) unit T/S ratio (0.26% decrease; 95% CI: -3.92 × 10(-3), -1.25 × 10(-3)). The associations were predominantly for the white pooled population. No sex differences were observed. Conclusions: A higher BMI is associated with shorter telomeres, especially in younger individuals. The presently observed difference is not negligible. Meta-analyses of longitudinal studies evaluating change in body weight alongside change in TL are warranted.

Indexed as

Body Mass IndexAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAge FactorsCross-Sectional StudiesEthnicityHumansLeukocytesMaleMiddle AgedObesitySex FactorsTelomereTelomere Shortening

Identifiers

PMID30535086
PMCPMC6454526

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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.