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Obesity is associated with shorter telomeres in 8 year-old children

Diana B P Clemente1,2,3,4, Lea Maitre1,3,4, Mariona Bustamante1,3,4,5

  • 1ISGlobal, Institute for Global Health Barcelona, C/ Doctor Aiguader 88, 08003, Barcelona, Spain.

Scientific Reports
|December 12, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Childhood obesity indicators like BMI are linked to shorter telomeres, a marker of biological aging. Higher child BMI showed a stronger association with shorter telomere length than maternal pre-pregnancy BMI.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Genetics and Aging
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Telomere length serves as a biomarker for biological aging, with shorter telomeres linked to age-related diseases.
  • Obesity in childhood is a growing concern associated with various health issues.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between childhood obesity markers and leukocyte telomere length (LTL).
  • To assess associations between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and child adiposity indices with LTL in children.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from 1,396 mother-child pairs in the European HELIX birth cohort study.
  • Assessed maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and child adiposity markers (BMI, fat mass, waist circumference, skinfold thickness) at age 8.
  • Calculated associations between relative LTL and adiposity markers using linear mixed models.

Main Results:

  • Higher maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was associated with shorter child LTL (0.23% shorter per 1 kg/m² increase).
  • Increased child BMI z-score was significantly associated with shorter LTL (1.21% shorter per z-score unit).
  • Inverse associations were noted for waist circumference and skinfold thickness with LTL, though less pronounced.

Conclusions:

  • Childhood adiposity indicators are associated with shorter telomeres in children.
  • Child BMI demonstrated a stronger inverse association with LTL compared to maternal pre-pregnancy BMI.
  • Findings highlight the potential impact of childhood obesity on biological aging markers.

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