Human telomere biology: pitfalls of moving from the laboratory to epidemiology.
Remarkable progress has been made during the last 2 decades in understanding telomere biology at the molecular and cellular levels. Clinical epidemiology research of human telomeres, in contrast, is a discipline just coming into its own. The most important observation in studying human telomere biology is that telomere length is highly variable among humans. Here we explain some of the reasons for this variability and propose several principles that should be considered in conducting epidemiological telomere research. Ignoring these principles could lead to misleading conclusions.
Aviv
Abraham
A
The Center of Human Development and Aging of New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA. avivab@umdnj.edu
Valdes
Ana M
AM
Spector
Tim D
TD
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics; D015982:Bias; D015340:Epidemiologic Research Design; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology / Q000379:methods*; D018401:Sample Size; D016615:Telomere / Q000235:genetics*