TY  - JOUR
SP  - 170
VL  - 2
N1  - This version is the author-accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher?s terms and conditions.
SN  - 2662-8465
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-021-00166-9
JF  - Nature Aging
A1  - Codd, V
A1  - Denniff, M
A1  - Swinfield, C
A1  - Warner, SC
A1  - Papakonstantinou, M
A1  - Sheth, S
A1  - Nanus, DE
A1  - Budgeon, CA
A1  - Musicha, C
A1  - Bountziouka, V
A1  - Wang, Q
A1  - Bramley, R
A1  - Allara, E
A1  - Kaptoge, S
A1  - Stoma, S
A1  - Jiang, T
A1  - Butterworth, AS
A1  - Wood, AM
A1  - Di Angelantonio, E
A1  - Thompson, JR
A1  - Danesh, JN
A1  - Nelson, CP
A1  - Samani, NJ
TI  - Measurement and initial characterization of leukocyte telomere length in 474,074 participants in UK Biobank
EP  - 179
AV  - public
Y1  - 2022/02/17/
ID  - discovery10202983
N2  - Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a proposed marker of biological age. Here we report the measurement and initial characterization of LTL in 474,074 participants in UK Biobank. We confirm that older age and male sex associate with shorter LTL, with women on average ~7 years younger in 'biological age' than men. Compared to white Europeans, LTL is markedly longer in African and Chinese ancestries. Older paternal age at birth is associated with longer individual LTL. Higher white cell count is associated with shorter LTL, but proportions of white cell subtypes show weaker associations. Age, ethnicity, sex and white cell count explain ~5.5% of LTL variance. Using paired samples from 1,351 participants taken ~5 years apart, we estimate the within-individual variability in LTL and provide a correction factor for this. This resource provides opportunities to investigate determinants and biomedical consequences of variation in LTL.
PB  - SPRINGERNATURE
KW  - Predictive markers
ER  -