ArticleHuman molecular genetics2020
Genetics and geography of leukocyte telomere length in sub-Saharan Africans.
Article in Human molecular genetics, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Shorter telomere length as a prognostic marker for survival and recurrence in breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Exploration of targeted anti-tumor therapy · 2025Pooled it
- Association between telomere length and Plasmodium falciparum malaria endemicity in sub-Saharan Africans.American journal of human genetics · 2024Article
- Does Effective Population Size Govern Evolutionary Differences in Telomere Length?Genome biology and evolution · 2024Article
- Article
- The telomere tumult: meaning and metrics in population studies.The lancet. Healthy longevity · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
18 authors at 10 institutions in 6 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) might be causal in cardiovascular disease and major cancers. To elucidate the roles of genetics and geography in LTL variability across humans, we compared LTL measured in 1295 sub-Saharan Africans (SSAs) with 559 African-Americans (AAms) and 2464 European-Americans (EAms). LTL differed significantly across SSAs (P = 0.003), with the San from Botswana (with the oldest genomic ancestry) having the longest LTL and populations from Ethiopia having the shortest LTL. SSAs had significantly longer LTL than AAms [P = 6.5(e-16)] whose LTL was significantly longer than EAms [P = 2.5(e-7)]. Genetic variation in SSAs explained 52% of LTL variance versus 27% in AAms and 34% in EAms. Adjustment for genetic variation removed the LTL differences among SSAs. LTL genetic variation among SSAs, with the longest LTL in the San, supports the hypothesis that longer LTL was ancestral in humans. Identifying factors driving LTL variation in Africa may have important ramifications for LTL-associated diseases.
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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.