Resumen:
BACKGROUND:
Shorter telomeres have been associated with elevated risk for age-related diseases. However, little is known about the biomarker role of telomere length (TL) for predicting inflammation and glucose alterations.
OBJECTIVE:
The objective of this research is to evaluate the association between TL, inflammatory markers and glucose levels after a 2-month weight-loss programme in obese adolescents.
METHODS:
Telomere length was measured using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction in 66 obese adolescents aged 12-17 years (51% men) from the EVASYON programme. The adolescents were genotyped for the polymorphism -174G/C (rs1800795) in the IL-6gene, and anthropometric and biochemical markers as well as inflammatory cytokines were analysed.
RESULTS:
Multiple-adjusted models showed that longer telomeres at baseline were associated with a higher reduction in glucose (B¿=¿-4.08, 95% confidence interval: -6.66 to -1.50) and IL-6 (B¿=¿-1.03, 95% confidence interval: -2.01 to -0.05) serum levels after 2¿months of the weight-loss treatment. The -174G/C polymorphism modulated the association between basal TL and changes in IL-6 (P interaction¿=¿0.029). Thus, subjects with the GG¿+¿GC genotype and with longer telomeres showed a higher decrease in IL-6 levels than CC homozygotes.
CONCLUSION:
Longer telomeres are associated with an improvement in glucose tolerance and inflammation after a weight-loss programme in obese adolescents. Moreover, the -174G/C polymorphism may influence the relationship between TL and IL-6 changes.
