title: Obstructive sleep apnea risk and leukocyte telomere length in African Americans from the MH-GRID study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Shorter telomere length and obstructive sleep apnea are associated with increased oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, which are both considered leading causes of age-related diseases. Different forms of sleep disordered breathing have been linked to telomere length although their relationship remains uncertain. The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between the risk of obstructive sleep apnea and telomere length in African Americans.
  
  
  METHODS
  The analysis included 184 women and 122 men aged 30-55 years from the Morehouse School of Medicine Study. Relative TL (T/S ratio) was measured from peripheral blood leukocytes using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The Berlin questionnaire was used for OSA risk assessments. Multivariable linear regression models were used to examine the associations between OSA risk and LTL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed that LTL varied by OSA risk in women (0.532 ± 0.006 vs. 0.569 ± 0.008) (p = 0.04). Multiple linear regression analysis confirmed that women at higher risk for OSA presented shorter LTL compared to those at lower risk, independent of age, income, education, obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and hypertension. These differences were not observed in men.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that OSA risk may contribute to the acceleration of cellular aging processes through telomere shortening.
authors.affiliation: Genomics of Metabolic, Cardiovascular and Inflammatory Disease Branch, Social Epidemiology Research Unit, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA. Teresa.riestra@nih.gov.
authors.forename: Pia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Riestra
authors.affiliation: Genomics of Metabolic, Cardiovascular and Inflammatory Disease Branch, Social Epidemiology Research Unit, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Samson Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Gebreab
authors.affiliation: Genomics of Metabolic, Cardiovascular and Inflammatory Disease Branch, Social Epidemiology Research Unit, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Ruihua
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Genomics of Metabolic, Cardiovascular and Inflammatory Disease Branch, Social Epidemiology Research Unit, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Rumana J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Genomics of Metabolic, Cardiovascular and Inflammatory Disease Branch, Social Epidemiology Research Unit, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Rakale
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Quarels
authors.affiliation: Genomics of Metabolic, Cardiovascular and Inflammatory Disease Branch, Social Epidemiology Research Unit, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gibbons
authors.affiliation: Genomics of Metabolic, Cardiovascular and Inflammatory Disease Branch, Social Epidemiology Research Unit, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Sharon K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018570:Risk Assessment; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000235:genetics*; D016615:Telomere / Q000378:metabolism*; D059506:Telomere Shortening
keywords: African Americans; Leukocyte telomere length; Obstructive sleep apnea