title: Telomere length in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and its associations with carotid plaque.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate telomere length (TL) between patients with SLE and healthy controls and to test if TL is associated with carotid plaque.
  
  
  METHODS
  A pilot study of 154 patients with SLE and 152 controls was performed from the SOLVABLE (Study of Lupus Vascular and Bone Long-Term Endpoints) cohort. Demographic and cardiovascular disease (CVD) factors were collected at baseline. The presence or absence of plaque was evaluated by B-mode US. Genomic DNA was isolated from whole peripheral blood. TL was quantified using real-time quantitative PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SLE women had a short TL compared with healthy controls (4.57 vs 5.44 kb, P = 0.03). SLE women showed shorter TL than controls across all age groups: <35 years (4.38 vs 6.37 kb), 35-44 years (4.52 vs 5.30 kb), 45-54 years (4.77 vs 5.68 kb) and ≥55 years (4.60 vs 4.71 kb). Among patients with SLE and carotid plaque there was a trend towards shorter TL at a younger age and it was significantly lower in the 35- to 44-year age group when compared with controls (P = 0.025). Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated a risk of carotid plaque with older age [odds ratio (OR) 1.09; 95% CI 1.06, 1.12] but not with TL (OR 1.05; 95% CI 0.97, 1.13).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SLE women had significantly shorter TL than controls. SLE women trended towards shorter TL at a younger age. When carotid plaque was identified, the younger SLE women had shorter TL. Only older age but not shorter TL was independently associated with carotid plaque. Additional studies are needed to confirm if TL is a novel biomarker for cardiovascular disease in SLE.
authors: Division of Rheumatology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
authors: Carly
authors: C
authors: Skamra
authors: Juanita
authors: J
authors: Romero-Diaz
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Sandhu
authors: QiQuan
authors: Q
authors: Huang
authors: Jungwha
authors: J
authors: Lee
authors: William
authors: W
authors: Pearce
authors: David D
authors: DD
authors: McPherson
authors: Kim
authors: K
authors: Sutton-Tyrrell
authors: Richard
authors: R
authors: Pope
authors: Rosalind
authors: R
authors: Ramsey-Goldman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000235:genetics; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016615:Telomere; D014463:Ultrasonography
keywords: cardiovascular disease; systemic lupus erythematosus; telomere length
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