ArticleBMC pediatrics2021
Association of telomere length and telomerase methylation with n-3 fatty acids in preschool children with obesity.
Article in BMC pediatrics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 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
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Vitamin DThe American journal of clinical nutrition · 2025Trial
- Body mass index, physical activity, and epigenetic aging: a cross-population study.Clinical epigenetics · 2026Observational
- Review
- Premature aging and metabolic diseases: the impact of telomere attrition.Frontiers in aging · 2025Review
- The role of circulating polyunsaturated fatty acids in mediating the effect of BMI on leukocyte telomere length: analysis using Mendelian randomization.Nutrition & metabolism · 2024Article
- Circulating Fatty Acids Associate with Metabolic Changes in Adolescents Living with Obesity.Biomedicines · 2024Article
- Unlocking longevity: the role of telomeres and its targeting interventions.Frontiers in aging · 2024Review
- Association between Lipids, Apolipoproteins and Telomere Length: A Mendelian Randomization Study.Nutrients · 2023Article
- No strong association among epigenetic modifications by DNA methylation, telomere length, and physical fitness in biological aging.Biogerontology · 2023Article
- Telomere dysfunction in some pediatric congenital and growth-related diseases.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2023Review
- Review
- Lipid alterations in chronic liver disease and liver cancer.JHEP reports : innovation in hepatology · 2022Review
- [Telomere pathology in ontogenesis in patients with Turner syndrome].Problemy endokrinologii · 2022Article
- Roles of gut microbiota and metabolites in overweight and obesity of children.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Review
- Review
- Associations of Maternal Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids With Telomere Length in the Cord Blood and Placenta in Chinese Population.Frontiers in nutrition · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTelomeres play a crucial role in cellular survival and its length is a predictor for onset of chronic non-communicable diseases. Studies on association between telomeres and obesity in children have brought discrepant results and the underlying mechanisms and influential factors are to be elucidated. This study aimed to investigate changes in telomere length and telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) DNA methylation, and further to determine their correlation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in preschool children with obesity.
methodsForty-six preschool children with obesity aged 3 to 4 years were included in the study, with equal numbers of age- and gender-matched children with normal weight as control. Leukocyte telomere length was determined by the ratio of telomeric product and single copy gene obtained using real-time qPCR. DNA methylation of TERT promoter was analyzed by bisulfite sequencing. Fatty acids in erythrocytes were measured by gas chromatography with a total of 15 fatty acids analyzed. The total saturated fatty acids (SFAs), total n-6 PUFAs, total n-3 PUFAs, and the ratio of arachidonic acid (AA) to docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were calculated. Then the correlation between leukocyte telomere length, TERT promoter methylation and fatty acids was determined.
resultsIn preschool children with obesity, leukocyte telomeres were shortened and had a negative association with the body mass index. The methylated fractions in 13 of 25 CpG sites in the TERT promoter were increased by approximately 3 to 35% in the children with obesity compared to the normal weight children. Erythrocyte lauric acid and total SFAs, lenoleic acid and total n-6 PUFAs were higher, and DHA was lower in the children with obesity than those in the children with normal weight. Correlative analysis showed that leukocyte telomere length had a positive association with total SFAs and DHA, and a negative association with the AA/DHA ratio. However, no association between erythrocyte DHA and the TERT promoter methylation was found.
conclusionThese data indicate that the reduced body DHA content and increased AA/DHA ratio may be associated with shortened leukocyte telomeres in child obesity, which is probably not involved in the TERT promoter methylation.
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