title: Sociodemographic correlates and family aggregation of leukocyte telomere length in adults and children from Mesoamerica.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Telomere length is a biomarker of cumulative stress and inflammation related to chronic disease risk. We examined the associations of leukocyte telomere length (LTL) with sociodemographic and anthropometric variables and estimated LTL family aggregation in Central America, a region with a high burden of chronic disease where LTL has not been studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a cross-sectional study of 174 school age children and their parents in the capital cities of Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and the city of Tuxtla-Gutierrez in Mexico. We measured LTL by quantitative PCR in DNA extracted from whole blood. We compared the distribution of LTL by categories of sociodemographic and anthropometric characteristics using linear regression. Family aggregation was estimated with correlation coefficients and intraclass correlations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In mothers, LTL was inversely associated with age (P, trend < .0001) and positively associated with height (P = .0002). Among fathers, LTL was inversely associated with food insecurity (P, trend = .0004). In children, boys had 0.10 log units shorter LTL than girls (95% CI: -0.17, -0.03; P = .004). LTL was inversely associated with parental education (P, trend = .01) and positively associated with paternal age at birth (P, trend < .0001), maternal LTL (P, trend = .007), and paternal LTL (P, trend = .02). LTL varied significantly by country of origin among all family members. Aggregation was greatest between children and their mothers, and mostly occurred at the country, rather than family, level.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LTL is associated with age and height in women; food insecurity in men; and sex, parental education, parental LTL, and paternal age at birth among children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Kerry S
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1569-2332
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Flannagan
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Erica C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Laura S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Rozek
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Katie M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Rentschler
authors.affiliation: INCAP Research Center for the Prevention of Chronic Diseases, Guatemala City, Guatemala.
authors.forename: Ana Victoria
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Roman
authors.affiliation: INCAP Research Center for the Prevention of Chronic Diseases, Guatemala City, Guatemala.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ramirez-Zea
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan.|Center for Human Growth and Development University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Villamor
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002489:Central America; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000503:physiopathology; D012923:Social Class; D059506:Telomere Shortening