title: Associations of leukocyte telomere length with body anthropometric indices and weight change in Chinese women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study evaluated associations of telomere length with various anthropometric indices of general and abdominal obesity, as well as weight change.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 2,912 Chinese women aged 40-70 years. Monochrome multiplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction was applied to measure relative telomere length.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Telomere length was inversely associated with body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, weight, and hip circumference (Ptrend = 0.005, 0.004, 0.004, 0.010, and 0.026, respectively), but not waist-to-hip ratio (Ptrend = 0.116) or height (Ptrend = 0.675). Weight change since age 50 was further evaluated among women over age 55. Women who maintained their weight within ±5% since age 50, particularly within a normal range (BMI = 18.5-24.9 kg/m(2) ), or reduced their weight from overweight (BMI = 25-29.9 kg/m(2) ) or obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m(2) ) to normal range, had a longer mean of current telomere length than women who gained weight since age 50 (Ptrend = 0.025), particularly those who stayed in obesity or gained weight from normal range or overweight to obesity (P = 0.023).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings show that telomere shortening is associated with obesity and that maintaining body weight within a normal range helps maintain telomere length.
authors: Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
authors: Yong
authors: Y
authors: Cui
authors: Yu-Tang
authors: YT
authors: Gao
authors: Qiuyin
authors: Q
authors: Cai
authors: Shimian
authors: S
authors: Qu
authors: Hui
authors: H
authors: Cai
authors: Hong-Lan
authors: HL
authors: Li
authors: Jie
authors: J
authors: Wu
authors: Bu-Tian
authors: BT
authors: Ji
authors: Gong
authors: G
authors: Yang
authors: Wong-Ho
authors: WH
authors: Chow
authors: Xiao-Ou
authors: XO
authors: Shu
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Zheng
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000886:Anthropometry; D044466:Asian People; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000737:chemistry*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000453:epidemiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016615:Telomere / Q000737:chemistry*; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio; D015430:Weight Gain