Associations of leukocyte telomere length with body anthropometric indices and weight change in Chinese women.

Abstract

This study evaluated associations of telomere length with various anthropometric indices of general and abdominal obesity, as well as weight change. The study included 2,912 Chinese women aged 40-70 years. Monochrome multiplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction was applied to measure relative telomere length. Telomere length was inversely associated with body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, weight, and hip circumference (Ptrend = 0.005, 0.004, 0.004, 0.010, and 0.026, respectively), but not waist-to-hip ratio (Ptrend = 0.116) or height (Ptrend = 0.675). Weight change since age 50 was further evaluated among women over age 55. Women who maintained their weight within ±5% since age 50, particularly within a normal range (BMI = 18.5-24.9 kg/m(2) ), or reduced their weight from overweight (BMI = 25-29.9 kg/m(2) ) or obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m(2) ) to normal range, had a longer mean of current telomere length than women who gained weight since age 50 (Ptrend = 0.025), particularly those who stayed in obesity or gained weight from normal range or overweight to obesity (P = 0.023). Our findings show that telomere shortening is associated with obesity and that maintaining body weight within a normal range helps maintain telomere length.