Insulin-like growth factors and leukocyte telomere length: the cardiovascular health study.
The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis may affect immune cell replicative potential and telomere dynamics. Among 551 adults 65 years and older, leukocyte telomere length (LTL), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins 1 and 3 (IGFBP-1, IGFBP-3) were measured. Multivariate linear regression was used to model the association of LTL with IGF-1 and IGFBPs, while controlling for confounding and increasing precision by adjusting for covariates. We observed a significant association between higher IGF-1 and longer LTL after adjustment for age, sex, race, smoking status, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, and serum lipids. The results suggested an increase of .08 kb in LTL for each standard deviation increase of IGF-1 (p = .04). IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-3 were not significantly associated with LTL. High IGF-1 may be an independent predictor of longer LTL, consistent with prior evidence suggesting a role for IGF-1 in mechanisms relating to telomere maintenance.
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA. rkaplan@aecom.yu.edu
Robert C
RC
Kaplan
Annette L
AL
Fitzpatrick
Michael N
MN
Pollak
Jeffrey P
JP
Gardner
Nancy S
NS
Jenny
Aileen P
AP
McGinn
Lewis H
LH
Kuller
Howard D
HD
Strickler
Masayuki
M
Kimura
Bruce M
BM
Psaty
Abraham
A
Aviv
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018970:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 1 / Q000097:blood; D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3; D018969:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins / Q000097:blood; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology*; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D016615:Telomere
C032231:IGFBP1 protein, human; C515497:IGFBP3 protein, human; D018970:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 1; D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3; D018969:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I