by Impact Journals LLC

Comparison of change in LTL over the 2-year follow-up according to osteoporosis. (A) Scatterplot showing the associations between baseline LTL and percentage change in LTL over a 2-year follow-up (the dotted line divides the study participants into quartile groups); (B) LOWESS curves showing the trend between baseline LTL and percentage change in LTL over a 2-year follow-up according to osteoporosis; (C) bar plot showing the percentage of osteoporosis after dividing the participants into quartile groups according to the LTL percentage change over the 2-year follow-up; (D) boxplots with jitters showing comparison of changes in LTL over the 2-year follow-up according to osteoporosis. LOWESS, locally weighted scatter plot smoothing; LTL, leukocyte telomere length. Credit: 2024 Han et al.

A shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is reported to be associated with age-related diseases, including osteoporosis. Many studies have tried identifying the association between LTL and osteoporosis, although it remains controversial.

In a new study, published on the cover of Aging titled, "Association between osteoporosis and the rate of telomere shortening," researchers Myung-Hoon Han and other collaborators aimed to determine whether osteoporosis is independently associated with LTL shortening in a prospective longitudinal cohort.

"We compared the LTL values for each participant at baseline and over a 2-year follow-up period," say the authors.

Multivariable linear regression was conducted to identify whether osteoporosis is independently associated with the rate of telomere shortening. A total of 233 subjects (from 55 to 88 years) from the KBASE cohort were finally enrolled in the study.

Multivariable linear regression analysis indicated that only osteoporosis was independently associated with rapid LTL shortening over two years (B, -8.08; p = 0.038). "We sought to identify an association between osteoporosis and LTL shortening in an independent prospective cohort."

More information: Myung-Hoon Han et al, Association between osteoporosis and the rate of telomere shortening, Aging (2024). DOI: 10.18632/aging.206034

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