Journal article
The impact of pathogen burden on leukocyte telomere length in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
Epidemiology and infection, v 145(14), pp 3076-3084
Oct 2017
PMID: 28879822
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Several infections have been linked to telomere shortening and in some cases these associations have varied by sex. We assessed the association between seropositivity to four persistent pathogens (cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex virus-1, Helicobacter pylori, Chlamydia pneumoniae), and total pathogen burden on leukocyte telomere length in a diverse US sample. Data came from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, a population-based cohort study. We utilized cross-sectional survey data, and biological samples from participants tested for pathogens and telomere length (N = 163). Linear regression was used to examine the association between seropositivity for individual pathogens as well as total pathogen burden and telomere length, adjusting for various confounders. CMV seropositivity and increased total pathogen burden level were significantly associated with shorter telomere length among females (β = −0·1204 (standard error (s.e.) 0·06), P = 0·044) and (β = −0·1057 (s.e. = 0·05), P = 0·033), respectively. There was no statistically significant association among males. Our findings suggest that prevention or treatment of persistent pathogens, in particular CMV, may play an important role in reducing telomere shortening over the life course among women. Future research is needed to confirm these novel findings in larger longitudinal samples.
Metrics
Details
- Title
- The impact of pathogen burden on leukocyte telomere length in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
- Creators
- A. E. Aiello - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillB. Jayabalasingham - Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics,CUNY School of Public Health, Hunter College, City University of New York,USA.A. M. Simanek - University of Wisconsin–MilwaukeeA. DIEZ-ROUX - Drexel UniversityL. Feinstein - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillH. C. S. Meier - University of Wisconsin–MilwaukeeB. L. Needham - University of Michigan–Ann ArborJ. B. Dowd - Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics,CUNY School of Public Health, Hunter College, City University of New York,USA.
- Publication Details
- Epidemiology and infection, v 145(14), pp 3076-3084
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Number of pages
- 9
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Pediatrics; Urban Health Collaborative
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000413208700024
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85031827458
- Other Identifier
- 991019169644604721
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Collaboration types
- Industry collaboration
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Infectious Diseases
- Public, Environmental & Occupational Health