title: Leukocyte telomere length and late-life depression.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Depressive disorders have been associated with increased risk for aging-related diseases, possibly as a consequence of accelerated cellular aging. Cellular aging, indexed by telomere length (TL) shortening, has been linked to depression in adults younger than 60 years; however, it remains unclear whether this is the case in late-life depression (age >60 years). The objective of this study was to assess differences in TL between persons with current late-life depression and never-depressed comparisons and to examine the association between characteristics of late-life depression and TL.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this cross-sectional study using the Netherlands Study of Depression in Older Persons, 355 persons with current late-life depression and 128 never-depressed comparisons, aged 60-93 years (mean age [SD]: 70.5 [7.4] years, 65% women), were recruited through primary care and mental healthcare. Late-life depression was established using a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition-based structured psychiatric interview. Leukocyte TL, expressed in base pairs (bp), was determined in fasting blood samples by performing quantitative polymerase chain reaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean TL did not differ between depressed persons (bp [SD]: 5,035 [431]) and never-depressed (bp [SD]: 5,057 [729]) comparisons. Further, TL was not associated with severity, duration, and age at onset of depression; comorbid anxiety disorders; anxiety symptoms; apathy severity; antidepressant use; benzodiazepine use; cognitive functioning; and childhood trauma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Late-life depression was not associated with increased cellular aging. This absent association, which contradicts observations in younger adults, may be due to the potential larger heterogenic nature of late-life depression and lifetime cumulative exposure to other TL-damaging factors, possibly overruling effects of late-life depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Roxanne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schaakxs
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Josine E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Verhoeven
authors.affiliation: University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Richard C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Oude Voshaar
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hannie C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Comijs
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: b.penninx@vumc.nl.
authors.forename: Brenda W J H
authors.initials: BWJH
authors.lastname: Penninx
mesh_terms: D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000067562:Late Onset Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D059506:Telomere Shortening / Q000235:genetics*
keywords: Late-life depression; cellular aging; telomere length; telomere shortening