Hypertension Control Is Associated with Telomere Length in Older Adults

Hypertension is the leading risk for cardiovascular disease and worldwide mortality. Uncontrolled blood pressure worsens with age and its control is part of public health strategies especially for older adults. Telomere length (TL) has been associated with hypertension, with age and sex as relevant confounding factors, but it is not clear whether hypertension control in older adults impacts on TL and if this relationship is consistently age and sex dependent. TL was assessed in leukocytes of 369 hypertensive patients. Individuals were >60 years male (169) and female (200) and have been diagnosed and treated for hypertension for at least four years. TL was measured by RT-PCR using a commercial probe. Regression models were developed considering systolic and diastolic blood pressure control as dependent variables and age, sex, glucose, and lipid levels as confounding factors. TL showed a mean of 7.5 ± 5.1 Kb, and no difference between males and females was observed. We identified a significant association between systolic blood pressure control and TL (p value = 0.039) and a trend for diastolic blood pressure (p value = 0.061). These observations confirm and expand previous reports showing that hypertension control can have an impact on TL and consequently on other factors of healthy aging.