title: Lower endothelial progenitor cell number, family history of cardiovascular disease and reduced HDL-cholesterol levels are associated with shorter leukocyte telomere length in healthy young adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a novel marker of cardiovascular (CV) risk. The aim of the study was to investigate the major determinants of LTL in a healthy young population at very low CV risk.
  
  
  RESULTS
  LTL was determined in 82 healthy subjects (49M/33F; age37 ± 9yrs), normotensive and not taking any medication with different family history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) (24yes/58no). Fasting blood samples were drawn in all subjects for the determination of lipid profile, high sensitive C-reactive protein, uric acid, Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), LTL and Endothelial Progenitor Cell (EPC) number. LTL was assessed with a specific real-time PCR reaction in leukocyte DNA samples. LTL resulted inversely correlated with family history of CVD (t = 2.70; p = 0.009), age (r = -0.238; p = 0.032), waist circumference (r = -0.256; p = 0.02), triglycerides (r = -0.218; p = 0.049), PAI-1 (r = -0.288; p = 0.009) and directly correlated with HDL-cholesterol (r = 0.316; p = 0.004) and EPC number (r = 0.358; p = 0.002). At a multivariate analysis, family history of CVD (p = 0.013), EPC count (p = 0.003), and HDL-cholesterol (p = 0.017) were independently associated with LTL (r = 0.62).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LTL is independently associated to CV risk factors also in healthy young adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Parma, Via Gramsci 14, 43100-Parma, Italy. alessandra.deicas@unipr.it
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dei Cas
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Spigoni
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Franzini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Preti
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ardigò
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Derlindati
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Metra
authors.forename: L D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Monti
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dell'Era
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gnudi
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zavaroni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000235:genetics*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017395:Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1 / Q000097:blood; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012307:Risk Factors; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016615:Telomere / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014527:Uric Acid / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D017395:Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1; D014280:Triglycerides; D014527:Uric Acid; D002097:C-Reactive Protein