TY - JOUR
T1 - Is telomere length a biomarker of aging? A review
AU - Mather, Karen Anne
AU - Jorm, Anthony Francis
AU - Parslow, Ruth Adeline
AU - Christensen, Helen
PY - 2011/2
Y1 - 2011/2
N2 - Telomeres, the DNA-protein structures located at the ends of chromosomes, have been proposed to act as a biomarker of aging. In this review, the human evidence that telomere length is a biomarker of aging is evaluated. Although telomere length is implicated in cellular aging, the evidence suggesting telomere length is a biomarker of aging in humans is equivocal. More studies examining the relationships between telomere length and mortality and with measures that decline with "normal" aging in community samples are required. These studies would benefit from longitudinal measures of both telomere length and aging-related parameters.
AB - Telomeres, the DNA-protein structures located at the ends of chromosomes, have been proposed to act as a biomarker of aging. In this review, the human evidence that telomere length is a biomarker of aging is evaluated. Although telomere length is implicated in cellular aging, the evidence suggesting telomere length is a biomarker of aging in humans is equivocal. More studies examining the relationships between telomere length and mortality and with measures that decline with "normal" aging in community samples are required. These studies would benefit from longitudinal measures of both telomere length and aging-related parameters.
KW - Biomarker of aging
KW - Telomere length
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79951780180&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/gerona/glq180
DO - 10.1093/gerona/glq180
M3 - Review article
SN - 1079-5006
VL - 66 A
SP - 202
EP - 213
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
IS - 2
ER -