Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38701745›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of human genetics2024

Association between telomere length and Plasmodium falciparum malaria endemicity in sub-Saharan Africans.

Michael A McQuillan, Simon Verhulst, Matthew E B Hansen, William Beggs, Dawit Wolde Meskel, Gurja Belay, Thomas Nyambo, Sununguko Wata Mpoloka, Gaonyadiwe George Mokone, Charles Fokunang and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of human genetics, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–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

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. CumulativeFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
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

14 authors.

Michael A McQuillanDepartment of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Simon VerhulstGroningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Matthew E B HansenDepartment of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
William BeggsDepartment of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Dawit Wolde MeskelDepartment of Microbial Cellular and Molecular Biology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Gurja BelayDepartment of Microbial Cellular and Molecular Biology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Thomas NyamboDepartment of Biochemistry, Kampala International University in Tanzania (KIUT), Dares Salaam, Tanzania.
Sununguko Wata MpolokaDepartment of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana.
Gaonyadiwe George MokoneDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana.
Charles FokunangDepartment of Pharmacotoxicology and Pharmacokinetics, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Alfred K NjamnshiBrain Research Africa Initiative (BRAIN), Neuroscience Lab, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Yaoundé I, Department of Neurology, Central Hospital Yaoundé, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Stephen J ChanockDivision of Cancer Epidemiology & Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, USA; Cancer Genomics Research Laboratory, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, USA.
Abraham AvivThe Center of Human Development and Aging, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07103, USA.
Sarah A TishkoffDepartment of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Center for Global Genomics and Health Equity, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Electronic address: tishkoff@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.

Funding

VIRAL VECTOR COREP30DK019525 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · PI DOUGLAS J EPSTEIN · 1986 to 2026
$48.3M
Translational Research Training Program in Environmental Health SciencesT32ES019851 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · PI Kara A Bernstein, Trevor M Penning · 2012 to 2026
$6.0M
Integrative Genomic Analyses of Human Evolution and Adaptation in AfricaR35GM134957 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · PI TISHKOFF, SARAH ANNE · 2020 to 2024
$2.7M
NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK019525NIEHS NIH HHS T32 ES019851NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM134957
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) varies significantly across human populations, with individuals of African ancestry having longer LTL than non-Africans. However, the genetic and environmental drivers of LTL variation in Africans remain largely unknown. We report here on the relationship between LTL, genetics, and a variety of environmental and climatic factors in ethnically diverse African adults (n = 1,818) originating from Botswana, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Cameroon. We observe significant variation in LTL among populations, finding that the San hunter-gatherers from Botswana have the longest leukocyte telomeres and that the Fulani pastoralists from Cameroon have the shortest telomeres. Genetic factors explain ∼50% of LTL variation among individuals. Moreover, we observe a significant negative association between Plasmodium falciparum malaria endemicity and LTL while adjusting for age, sex, and genetics. Within Africa, adults from populations indigenous to areas with high malaria exposure have shorter LTL than those in populations indigenous to areas with low malaria exposure. Finally, we explore to what degree the genetic architecture underlying LTL in Africa covaries with malaria exposure.

Indexed as

Malaria, FalciparumTelomereAdultAfrica South of the SaharaBlack PeopleBotswanaCameroonCentral African PeopleEast African PeopleEndemic DiseasesFemaleHumansLeukocytesMaleMiddle AgedPlasmodium falciparumAfricamalariapopulation geneticstelomere

Identifiers

PMID38701745
PMCPMC11080607

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.