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Shorter telomeres are associated with mortality in those with APOE epsilon4 and dementia
Honig LS, Schupf N, Lee JH, Tang MX, Mayeux R.. Annals of neurology, 2006-08-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Objective Reduced telomere length may be a marker of biological aging. We hypothesized that telomere length might thus relate to increased risk for dementia and mortality. Methods This nested case-control study used stored leukocyte DNA from 257 individuals (mean age, 81.4 +/- 7.9 years; 64.6% female; 44.7% Hispanic, 33.5% non-Hispanic black, and 21.8% non-Hispanic white). Our assay used real-time polymerase chain reaction, with two separate reactions amplifying telomere sequence and reference single copy gene (ribosomal-protein-P0), providing a calculated telomere-to-single copy gene (T/S) ratio. Results Mean telomere length was shorter among subjects dying during follow-up than in those surviving (0.453 +/- 0.211 vs 0.525 +/- 0.226 [+/- standard deviation]; p Interpretation Our findings suggest that leukocyte telomere length is related to both dementia and mortality and may be a marker of biological aging.
Key findings
- We hypothesized that telomere length might thus relate to increased risk for dementia and mortality.
- Results Mean telomere length was shorter among subjects dying during follow-up than in those surviving (0.453 +/- 0.211 vs 0.525 +/- 0.226 [+/- standard deviation]; p < 0.009).
Why it matters
In this nested case-control study, shorter leukocyte telomere length was associated with both dementia and mortality. The authors suggest telomere length may be a marker of biological aging, but this does not establish a treatment, cure or prevention.
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Study details
- Study designcase-control study
- Participants257
- Effect size64.6%; 44.7%; 33.5%
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 60/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a case-control study. Scored zero for randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Annals of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Annals of Neurology: journal h-index 437 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 6 / 12 | A case-control study |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2006 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 257 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 175 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 8.0 citations a year over 22 year(s) since 2006 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 5 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Richard P Mayeux: h-index 158 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Columbia University: institution h-index 1,824 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 16807921) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 60 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Honig, L. S., Schupf, N., Lee, J. H., Tang, M. X., & Mayeux, R. (2006). Shorter telomeres are associated with mortality in those with APOE epsilon4 and dementia. Annals of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.20894
Vancouver
Honig LS, Schupf N, Lee JH, Tang MX, Mayeux R. Shorter telomeres are associated with mortality in those with APOE epsilon4 and dementia. Annals of neurology. 2006. doi:10.1002/ana.20894. PMID: 16807921.
BibTeX
@article{honig2006-16807921,
author = {Honig, L. S. and Schupf, N. and Lee, J. H. and Tang, M. X. and Mayeux, R.},
title = {{Shorter telomeres are associated with mortality in those with APOE epsilon4 and dementia}},
journal = {Annals of neurology},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1002/ana.20894},
pmid = {16807921},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.20894}
}
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