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Telomere length and 4-year changes in cognitive function in an older Mediterranean population at high risk of cardiovascular disease

Fernández De La Puente, María ; Marti, Amelia ; Canudas, Silvia ; Zalba, Guillermo ; Razquin, Cristina ; Boccardi, Virginia ; Mecocci, Patrizia ; Babio, Nancy ; Castañer-Niño, Olga and Toledo, Estefanía , et al. (2024) In Age and Ageing 53(10).
Abstract

Background: Cognitive decline, a common process of brain ageing, has been associated with telomere length (TL). Delving into the identification of reliable biomarkers of brain ageing is essential to prevent accelerated cognitive impairment. Methods: We selected 317 non-smoking 'Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea-Plus' (PREDIMED-Plus) participants (mean age, 65.8 ± 5.0 years) with metabolic syndrome from two trial centres who were following a lifestyle intervention. We measured TL and cognitive function at baseline and after 3 and 4 years of follow-up, respectively. Associations between baseline or 3-year changes in TL and baseline or 4-year changes in cognitive function were analysed using multivariable regression models. Results:... (More)

Background: Cognitive decline, a common process of brain ageing, has been associated with telomere length (TL). Delving into the identification of reliable biomarkers of brain ageing is essential to prevent accelerated cognitive impairment. Methods: We selected 317 non-smoking 'Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea-Plus' (PREDIMED-Plus) participants (mean age, 65.8 ± 5.0 years) with metabolic syndrome from two trial centres who were following a lifestyle intervention. We measured TL and cognitive function at baseline and after 3 and 4 years of follow-up, respectively. Associations between baseline or 3-year changes in TL and baseline or 4-year changes in cognitive function were analysed using multivariable regression models. Results: Baseline TL was not associated with baseline cognitive performance. Nevertheless, longer baseline TL was associated with improved 4-year changes in the Executive Function domain (β: 0.29; 95%CI: 0.12 to 0.44; P < 0.001) and the Global Cognitive Function domain (β: 0.19; 95%CI: 0.05 to 0.34; P = 0.010). Besides, a positive association was found between longer baseline TL and improved 4-year changes in the animal version of the Verbal Fluency Test (β: 0.33; 95%CI: 0.12 to 0.52; P = 0.002). By contrast, 3-year changes in TL were not associated with changes in cognitive function after 4 years. Conclusions: Longer baseline TL could protect from cognitive decline and be used as a useful biomarker of brain ageing function in an older Mediterranean population at risk of cardiovascular disease and cognitive impairment.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
ageing, biomarker, cognitive function, older people, Telomere length
in
Age and Ageing
volume
53
issue
10
article number
afae216
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • pmid:39385582
  • scopus:85205990544
ISSN
0002-0729
DOI
10.1093/ageing/afae216
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
24af6fed-a866-4d50-b057-57d6762a5a01
date added to LUP
2024-12-10 11:19:22
date last changed
2025-07-09 04:21:13
@article{24af6fed-a866-4d50-b057-57d6762a5a01,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: Cognitive decline, a common process of brain ageing, has been associated with telomere length (TL). Delving into the identification of reliable biomarkers of brain ageing is essential to prevent accelerated cognitive impairment. Methods: We selected 317 non-smoking 'Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea-Plus' (PREDIMED-Plus) participants (mean age, 65.8 ± 5.0 years) with metabolic syndrome from two trial centres who were following a lifestyle intervention. We measured TL and cognitive function at baseline and after 3 and 4 years of follow-up, respectively. Associations between baseline or 3-year changes in TL and baseline or 4-year changes in cognitive function were analysed using multivariable regression models. Results: Baseline TL was not associated with baseline cognitive performance. Nevertheless, longer baseline TL was associated with improved 4-year changes in the Executive Function domain (β: 0.29; 95%CI: 0.12 to 0.44; P &lt; 0.001) and the Global Cognitive Function domain (β: 0.19; 95%CI: 0.05 to 0.34; P = 0.010). Besides, a positive association was found between longer baseline TL and improved 4-year changes in the animal version of the Verbal Fluency Test (β: 0.33; 95%CI: 0.12 to 0.52; P = 0.002). By contrast, 3-year changes in TL were not associated with changes in cognitive function after 4 years. Conclusions: Longer baseline TL could protect from cognitive decline and be used as a useful biomarker of brain ageing function in an older Mediterranean population at risk of cardiovascular disease and cognitive impairment.</p>}},
  author       = {{Fernández De La Puente, María and Marti, Amelia and Canudas, Silvia and Zalba, Guillermo and Razquin, Cristina and Boccardi, Virginia and Mecocci, Patrizia and Babio, Nancy and Castañer-Niño, Olga and Toledo, Estefanía and Buil-Cosiales, Pilar and Salas-Salvadó, Jordi and García-Calzón, Sonia}},
  issn         = {{0002-0729}},
  keywords     = {{ageing; biomarker; cognitive function; older people; Telomere length}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  number       = {{10}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{Age and Ageing}},
  title        = {{Telomere length and 4-year changes in cognitive function in an older Mediterranean population at high risk of cardiovascular disease}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afae216}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/ageing/afae216}},
  volume       = {{53}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}