ArticleNeurology2025
Association of Leucocyte Telomere Length With Stroke, Dementia, and Late-Life Depression: The Role of Modifiable Risk Factors.
Article in Neurology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Risk Factors for Anxiety or Depression in Patients With Stroke During the Acute and Recovery Phases: An Independent Cohort Study.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2026Article
- Repeated head impacts establish a senescent cranial bone marrow niche that impairs brain metabolism.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Article
- Repeated Mild Head Injury Establishes a Senescent Cranial Bone Marrow Niche that Impairs Brain Metabolism.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Autism Spectrum Disorder as a Multifactorial Disorder: The Interplay of Genetic Factors and Inflammation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
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9 authors.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectivesStroke, dementia, and late-life depression (LLD) are age-related brain diseases that pose significant public health challenges and costs. Leucocyte telomere length (LTL) is a biological aging marker influenced by both genetic and lifestyle factors. The aim of our study was to determine the association between LTL and these diseases. We further investigated whether modifying risk factors of age-related brain disease, as measured using the Brain Care Score (BCS), mitigates LTL associations.
methodsWe analyzed participants from the UK Biobank with available LTL and risk factor information. We examined LTL's associations with stroke, dementia, and LLD, individually and as a composite outcome, using continuous measures and tertile stratification. Disease risks were evaluated through cumulative incidence curves, incidence rates per 1,000 person-years, and adjusted Cox models. Risk comparisons across LTL tertiles were stratified by risk factor profiles, with high BCS (≥15) indicating healthier lifestyle choices and low BCS (≤10) reflecting less optimal lifestyle choices. Mendelian randomization (MR) was used to test causal associations.
resultsThe study included 356,173 participants (median age 56 years; 53.69% female). Shorter LTL was consistently associated with higher incidence rates across all outcomes. Participants in the shortest LTL tertile had elevated risks of the composite outcome (hazard ratio [HR] 1.11; 95% CI 1.08-1.15), stroke (HR 1.08; 95% CI 1.02-1.15), dementia (HR 1.19; 95% CI 1.12-1.26), and LLD (HR 1.14; 95% CI 1.09-1.18). Individuals with both shorter LTL and lower BCS faced significantly increased risks of age-related brain diseases (HR 1.11; 95% CI 1.07-1.16) and individually for stroke (HR 1.10; 95% CI 1.02-1.19), dementia (HR 1.17; 95% CI 1.08-1.28), and LLD (HR 1.13; 95% CI 1.07-1.19). Conversely, individuals with higher BCS within the shortest LTL group did not show a significant increase in risk of any age-related brain diseases. MR analyses did not identify causal relationships between LTL and these outcomes. DISCUSSION: Individuals with shorter LTL are at increased risk of stroke, dementia, and LLD. Improved modifiable risk factor profiles seem to mitigate the impact of LTL on these diseases. Future research should explore the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions in mitigating adverse biological aging effects on brain health.
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