ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2021
Short Leukocyte Telomeres, But Not Telomere Attrition Rates, Predict Memory Decline in the 20-Year Longitudinal Betula Study.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Telomere Length and Cognitive Function Among Middle-Aged and Older Participants From Communities Underrepresented in Aging Research: A Preliminary Study.Journal of aging and health · 2026Article
- Cognitive-Enhancing Effects of Bioactive Compounds and Traditional Herbal Medicines in Elderly Patients with Metabolic Syndrome.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Associations between air pollution and relative leukocyte telomere length among northern Swedish adults based on findings from the Betula study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- A Perceived Dissociation Between Systemic Chronic Inflammation, Age, and the Telomere/Telomerase System in Type 2 Diabetes.Biomedicines · 2025Article
- Leukocyte telomere length and memory circuitry and cognition in early aging: Impact of sex and menopausal status.Hormones and behavior · 2024Article
- Geroscience and pathology: a new frontier in understanding age-related diseases.Pathology oncology research : POR · 2024Review
- Mid-life leukocyte telomere length and dementia risk: An observational and mendelian randomization study of 435,046 UK Biobank participants.Aging cell · 2023Observational
- Work-Related Psychosocial Factors and Global Cognitive Function: Are Telomere Length and Low-Grade Inflammation Potential Mediators of This Association?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Sixteen-Year Longitudinal Evaluation of Blood-Based DNA Methylation Biomarkers for Early Prediction of Alzheimer's Disease.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2023Article
- Short leukocyte telomeres predict 25-year Alzheimer's disease incidence in non-APOE ε4-carriers.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a proposed biomarker for aging-related disorders, including cognitive decline and dementia. Long-term longitudinal studies measuring intra-individual changes in both LTL and cognitive outcomes are scarce, precluding strong conclusions about a potential aging-related relationship between LTL shortening and cognitive decline. This study investigated associations between baseline levels and longitudinal changes in LTL and memory performance across an up to 20-year follow-up in 880 dementia-free participants from a population-based study (mean baseline age: 56.8 years, range: 40-80; 52% female). Shorter baseline LTL significantly predicted subsequent memory decline (r = .34, 95% confidence interval: 0.06, 0.82), controlling for age, sex, and other relevant covariates. No significant associations were however observed between intra-individual changes in LTL and memory, neither concurrently nor with a 5-year time-lag between LTL shortening and memory decline. These results support the notion of short LTL as a predictive factor for aging-related memory decline, but suggest that LTL dynamics in adulthood and older age may be less informative of cognitive outcomes in aging. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of long-term longitudinal evaluation of outcomes in biomarker research.
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