Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40067965›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism2025

Effect of Ethnicity on the Relationship Between Telomere Length and Metabolic Markers in Kuwait.

Thangavel Alphonse Thanaraj, Mohamed Abu-Farha, Ahmed N Albatineh, Arshad Channanath, Motasem Melhem, Betty Chandy, Emil Anoop, Jehad Abubaker, Fahd Al-Mulla

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Article in The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

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2citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Thangavel Alphonse ThanarajDepartment of Genetics and Bioinformatics, Dasman Diabetes Institute, Dasman 15462, Kuwait.ORCID 0000-0002-4574-5343
Mohamed Abu-FarhaDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dasman Diabetes Institute, Dasman 15462, Kuwait.
Ahmed N AlbatinehFaculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Kuwait City 13110, Kuwait.
Arshad ChannanathDepartment of Translational Research, Dasman Diabetes Institute, Dasman 15462, Kuwait.
Motasem MelhemDepartment of Special Services Facilities, Dasman Diabetes Institute, Dasman 15462, Kuwait.
Betty ChandyDepartment of Special Services Facilities, Dasman Diabetes Institute, Dasman 15462, Kuwait.
Emil AnoopDepartment of Special Services Facilities, Dasman Diabetes Institute, Dasman 15462, Kuwait.
Jehad AbubakerDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dasman Diabetes Institute, Dasman 15462, Kuwait.
Fahd Al-MullaDepartment of Genetics and Bioinformatics, Dasman Diabetes Institute, Dasman 15462, Kuwait.ORCID 0000-0001-5409-3829

Funding

Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences RA-HM-2019-030
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

contextThe telomere plays a critical role in maintaining genomic stability, and its length serves as a marker of cellular aging. Emerging evidence projects telomere length as a clinical risk factor for metabolic diseases.

objectiveOur present study examines the associations between telomere length and demographic factors including metabolic health in a multiethnic cohort to provide insight into the effect of ethnicity on the potential use of telomere length as a biomarker for assessing diabetes risk.

methodsThis cross-sectional study cohort comprised 2083 individuals of Arab, South Asian, or Southeast Asian descent living in Kuwait. Telomere lengths were measured from peripheral venous blood DNA using quantitative polymerase chain reaction-based techniques. Associations between telomere length and metabolic indicators (including body mass index [BMI], being diabetic, glycated hemoglobin A1c [HbA1c], fasting blood glucose [FBG], and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance [HOMA-IR]) were analyzed using Spearman correlation and quantile regression, adjusting for covariates.

resultsSouth Asian and Southeast Asian participants had significantly higher median telomere lengths than Arabs. Median telomere lengths varied significantly across sex, age tertiles, ethnicity, being diabetic, BMI, and HOMA-IR scores. Telomere length was negatively associated with being male (β = -.49; 95% CI, [-0.85 to -0.13]), diabetic (β = -.77; 95% CI, [-1.25 to -0.29]), age (β = -.06; 95% CI, [-0.08 to -0.04]), HOMA-IR (β = -1.01; 95% CI, [-1.43 to -0.575]), BMI (β = -.11; 95% CI, [-0.14 to -0.083]), and HbA1c (β = -.213; 95% CI, [-0.33 to -0.096]). Negative correlations between telomere lengths and triglycerides, HbA1c, FBG, insulin, and HOMA-IR levels were more highly significant in South Asians than in Arabs and Southeast Asians.

conclusionOur study underlines the significant influence of ethnicity on the interplay between telomere length and metabolic health, and emphasizes the need to incorporate ethnic background when relating telomere biology to metabolic disorders. It further highlights the potential to incorporate telomere length into clinical risk factors for diabetes.

Indexed as

BiomarkersDiabetes MellitusEthnicityTelomereTelomere HomeostasisAdultAgedArabsAsian PeopleBlood GlucoseBody Mass IndexCohort StudiesCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGlycated HemoglobinHumansBiomarkersBlood GlucoseGlycated Hemoglobinhemoglobin A1c protein, humanArabsdiabetesinsulin resistancemetabolic markersmultiethnicityTelomere length

Identifiers

PMID40067965
PMCPMC12527430

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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.