title: Short telomere length, myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease, and early death.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We tested the hypothesis that short telomere length is associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease, and early death.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We measured leukocyte telomere length in 2 prospective studies of 19 838 Danish general population participants from the Copenhagen City Heart Study and the Copenhagen General Population Study. Participants were followed for up to 19 years for incident myocardial infarction (n=929), ischemic heart disease (n=2038), and death (n=4342). Follow-up was 100% complete. Telomere length decreased linearly with increasing age in women and men in both studies (P=7×10(-74) to P=3×10(-125)). Multifactorially adjusted hazard ratios were 1.10 (95% CI 1.01-1.19) for myocardial infarction, 1.06 (1.00-1.11) for ischemic heart disease, and 1.09 (1.05-1.13) for early death per 1000-base pair decrease in telomere length. The multifactorially adjusted hazard ratios for the shortest versus the longest decile of telomere length were 1.49 (1.07-2.07) for myocardial infarction, 1.24 (1.01-1.53) for ischemic heart disease, and 1.25 (1.07-1.46) for early death.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Short telomere length is associated with only modestly increased risk of myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease, and early death.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Herlev Hospital, Herlev, Denmark.
authors.forename: Maren
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weischer
authors.forename: Stig E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Bojesen
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Cawthon
authors.forename: Jacob J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Freiberg
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tybjærg-Hansen
authors.forename: Børge G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Nordestgaard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality*; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality*; D010641:Phenotype; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D059506:Telomere Shortening; D013997:Time Factors