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Importance: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) have been linked to shorter telomere length (TL). While understanding this association has critical clinical implications for respiratory diseases, previous studies exploring these associations were conducted in European populations. The present study aims to investigate this relationship in an Asian population. Objective: To examine the causal relationship between leukocyte TL and COPD and ILD in an Asian population. Design: Setting, and Participants: We used a genome-wide association study summary statistics-based two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) design to investigate the association between leukocyte TL, genetically predicted by nine single-nucleotide polymorphisms and the risk of COPD and ILD. Participants were Japanese individuals enrolled in the Biobank Japan Project, including 3315 COPD patients and 806 ILD patients. Exposure: Leukocyte TL was genetically predicted by nine single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Results: The inverse-variance weighted estimates showed a significant inverse association between leukocyte TL and COPD (odds ratio [OR] = 0.78; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.64, 0.95; P = 0.01) and ILD (OR = 0.29; 95 % CI: 0.14, 0.61; P = 0.001), respectively. All sensitivity analyses yielded consistent results. The MR-Egger regression intercept test showed no evidence of horizontal pleiotropy (Pintercept: COPD, 0.56; ILD: 0.70). Conclusion: and Relevance: Our findings suggest that leukocyte telomere shortening may causally increase the risk of COPD and ILD. These results highlight the potential importance of TL for these respiratory diseases.

Background: Telomere length (TL) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number shifts are linked to metabolic abnormalities, and possible modifications by diet-induced weight loss are poorly explored. We investigated the variations before (T0) and after a 1-year (T12) lifestyle intervention (diet + physical activity) in a group of outpatients with obesity. Methods: Patients aged 25–70 years with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 were enrolled. Clinical and biochemical assessments (including a blood sample for TL, mtDNA copy number and total antioxidant capacity, and TAC determinations) were performed at T0 and T12. Results: The change in TL and the mtDNA copy number was heterogeneous and not significantly different at T12. Patients were then divided by baseline TL values into lower than median TL (L-TL) and higher than median TL (H-TL) groups. The two groups did not differ at baseline for anthropometric, clinical, and laboratory characteristics. At T12, the L-TL group when compared to H-TL showed TL elongation (respectively, +0.57 ± 1.23 vs. −2.15 ± 1.13 kbp, p = 0.04), higher mtDNA copy number (+111.5 ± 478.5 vs. −2314.8 ± 724.2, respectively, p < 0.001), greater weight loss (−8.1 ± 2.7 vs. −6.1 ± 4.6 Kg, respectively, p = 0.03), fat mass reduction (−1.42 ± 1.3 vs. −1.22 ± 1.5%, respectively, p = 0.04), and increased fat-free mass (+57.8 ± 6.5 vs. +54.9 ± 5.3%, respectively, p = 0.04) and TAC levels (+58.5 ± 18.6 vs. +36.4 ± 24.1 µM/L, respectively, p = 0.04). Conclusions: TL and the mtDNA copy number significantly increased in patients with obesity and with lower baseline TL values after a 1-year lifestyle intervention. Larger longitudinal studies are needed to confirm the results of this pilot study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telomeres length and telomerase activity are currently considered aging molecular stigmata. Water is a major requirement for our body and water should be alkaline. Recent reports have shown that aging is related to a reduced water intake. We wanted to investigate the effect of the daily intake of alkaline water on the molecular hallmark of aging and the anti-oxidant response. We watered a mouse model of aging with or without alkaline supplementation. After 10 months, we obtained the blood, the bone marrow and the ovaries from both groups. In the blood, we measured the levels of ROS, SOD-1, GSH, and the telomerase activity and analysed the bone marrow and the ovaries for the telomeres length. We found reduced ROS levels and increased SOD-1, GSH, telomerase activity and telomeres length in alkaline supplemented mice. We show here that watering by using alkaline water supplementation highly improves aging at the molecular level.

Telomeres length and telomerase activity are currently considered aging molecular stigmata. Water is a major requirement for our body and water should be alkaline. Recent reports have shown that aging is related to a reduced water intake. We wanted to investigate the effect of the daily intake of alkaline water on the molecular hallmark of aging and the anti-oxidant response. We watered a mouse model of aging with or without alkaline supplementation. After 10 months, we obtained the blood, the bone marrow and the ovaries from both groups. In the blood, we measured the levels of ROS, SOD-1, GSH, and the telomerase activity and analysed the bone marrow and the ovaries for the telomeres length. We found reduced ROS levels and increased SOD-1, GSH, telomerase activity and telomeres length in alkaline supplemented mice. We show here that watering by using alkaline water supplementation highly improves aging at the molecular level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) have been linked to shorter telomere length (TL). While understanding this association has critical clinical implications for respiratory diseases, previous studies exploring these associations were conducted in European populations. The present study aims to investigate this relationship in an Asian population., Objective: To examine the causal relationship between leukocyte TL and COPD and ILD in an Asian population., Design: Setting, and Participants: We used a genome-wide association study summary statistics-based two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) design to investigate the association between leukocyte TL, genetically predicted by nine single-nucleotide polymorphisms and the risk of COPD and ILD. Participants were Japanese individuals enrolled in the Biobank Japan Project, including 3315 COPD patients and 806 ILD patients., Exposure: Leukocyte TL was genetically predicted by nine single-nucleotide polymorphisms., Results: The inverse-variance weighted estimates showed a significant inverse association between leukocyte TL and COPD (odds ratio [OR] = 0.78; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.64, 0.95; P = 0.01) and ILD (OR = 0.29; 95 % CI: 0.14, 0.61; P = 0.001), respectively. All sensitivity analyses yielded consistent results. The MR-Egger regression intercept test showed no evidence of horizontal pleiotropy (P intercept : COPD, 0.56; ILD: 0.70)., Conclusion: and Relevance: Our findings suggest that leukocyte telomere shortening may causally increase the risk of COPD and ILD. These results highlight the potential importance of TL for these respiratory diseases., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Objective: To evaluate a relative telomere length in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) before and after a 6-month course of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy., Material and Methods: Seventy-five men participated in the study, including 50 men with OSA (the main group 1) and 25 men without OSA (the control group). The average age in the total group was 53.4±3.6 years. Thirty-five men completed the study (the main group 2). According to the design, night polysomnography (PSG) was performed for all the subjects, blood sampling to assess the length of telomeres was carried out in the morning according to the standard method. The values of the relative telomere length were obtained using the difference between the values of the threshold cycles for telomeric DNA and the reference gene albumin (∆CCt). After clarifying the diagnosis, CPAP was applied for 6 months., Results: Statistically significant indicators of PSG were revealed: a decrease in NREM 3 in patients with OSA compared to controls (89.3±15.8 versus 150±23.4 minutes), an increase in NREM1-2 in OSA (296.2±31.1 and 170.1±24.5, respectively), REM was 84.6±15.4 in the main group and 118.5±19.5 in the control group. CPAP therapy conducted for 6 months (at least 4-5 nights a week, lasting at least 5-6 hours of night sleep) demonstrated a significant improvement in the qualitative and quantitative parameters of sleep. In patients of the main group 1, there is a shortening of the telomere length compared with the control group ( p <0.001). With the elimination of hypoxia and improvement of the structure of sleep after CPAP, there was an increase in the telomere lengths in the main group 1 from 0.28 [0.24-0.29] to 0.32 [0.30-0.34] in the main group 2 ( p =0.03). The telomers length in the control group was 0.53 [0.50-0.55]., Conclusion: Intermittent hypoxia and fragmentation of sleep in OSA leads to shortening of telomeres. CPAP, by eliminating the pathophysiological triggers of OSA, contributes to an increase in telomeres lengths and can slow down the premature aging in OSA.