Genomic, phenomic and geographic associations of leukocyte telomere length in the United States - PubMed
6 hours ago
- #health disparities
- #telomere length
- #genomics
- Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is associated with conditions like cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms.
- LTL was estimated from blood-derived whole-genome sequences in the All of Us research program (n=242,494) across diverse ancestries in the USA.
- LTL associations varied across genetic ancestries and sexes, linking to lifestyle, socioeconomic status, biomarkers, cardiometabolic diseases, and neoplasms.
- Geographic analysis showed longer LTL clustered on the West Coast and Central Midwest, while shorter LTL clustered in the Southeast.
- Genome-wide association studies and meta-analyses with the UK Biobank identified 234 nonoverlapping loci, including 37 novel ones.
- Six novel loci were unique to non-European-like populations, and one specific to women.
- Rare variant analysis uncovered nine novel genes, providing new functional insights into LTL.
- The study highlights contextual heterogeneities in phenomic and genomic associations with LTL.