title: The telomere attrition rate is not accelerated in women born small for gestational age: A birth cohort study.
abstract: Physiologically, a reduction in telomere length (LTL) occurs with aging, but epigenetic changes may accelerate telomere shortening and also facilitate the onset of oxidative/inflammatory stress and the development of clinical/metabolic comorbidities in life spam. Although individuals born small for gestational age (SGA) may be related to those epigenetic changes, the assessment of LTL in individuals born SGA has yielded conflicting results (only cross-sectional studies) and has not been carried out in longitudinal studies. We performed a birth cohort study to evaluate the rate of telomere erosion in women born SGA in comparison to women born appropriate for gestational age (AGA) assessed at two different time points during the third decade of life. In our research, born SGA or AGA showed no difference in LTL shortening during a period of five years in the third decade of life. Our finding may have implications for understanding the natural history of diseases in lifespan because the same women (under the influence of similar environmental factors) may be accessed in different phases of life. Thus, the analysis of the present cohort population at a more advanced age may reveal a dynamics of telomere shortening different from here and its possible relation with onset of age-related diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: doctor_asmelo@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Anderson Sanches
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: de Melo
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rosana Maria Dos
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Reis
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rodrigo T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Calado
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de Carvalho Cavalli
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, SP CEP: 14048-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Heloisa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bettiol
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, SP CEP: 14048-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Viviane Cunha
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rui Alberto
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Ferriani
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, SP CEP: 14048-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marco Antonio
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Barbieri
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carolina Sales
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Vieira
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics; D001724:Birth Weight; D015331:Cohort Studies; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D011446:Prospective Studies; D059506:Telomere Shortening / Q000235:genetics*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Epigenetic alteration; Foetal programming; Small for gestational age; Telomere length