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Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Telomere Length and Telomerase Activity; A Yin and Yang of Cell Senescence
Published on: May 22, 2013
Insulin-like growth factors and leukocyte telomere length: the cardiovascular health study
Robert C Kaplan1, Annette L Fitzpatrick, Michael N Pollak
1Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA. rkaplan@aecom.yu.edu
Abstract:
The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis may affect immune cell replicative potential and telomere dynamics. Among 551 adults 65 years and older, leukocyte telomere length (LTL), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins 1 and 3 (IGFBP-1, IGFBP-3) were measured. Multivariate linear regression was used to model the association of LTL with IGF-1 and IGFBPs, while controlling for confounding and increasing precision by adjusting for covariates. We observed a significant association between higher IGF-1 and longer LTL after adjustment for age, sex, race, smoking status, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, and serum lipids. The results suggested an increase of .08 kb in LTL for each standard deviation increase of IGF-1 (p = .04). IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-3 were not significantly associated with LTL. High IGF-1 may be an independent predictor of longer LTL, consistent with prior evidence suggesting a role for IGF-1 in mechanisms relating to telomere maintenance.
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Telomeres and Telomerase
