Osteoporosis and aging linked at cellular level

A new research paper was published on the cover of Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 16, Issue 14, entitled, "Association between osteoporosis and the rate of telomere shortening."

A shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is reported to be associated with age-related diseases, including osteoporosis. Many studies have tried identifying the association between LTL and osteoporosis, although it remains controversial. 

In this current study, researchers Myung-Hoon Han , Hyuk Sung Kwon, Mina Hwang, Hyun-Hee Park, Jee Hyang Jeong, Kyung Won Park, Eun-Joo Kim, Soo Jin Yoon, Bora Yoon, Jae-Won Jang, Jin Yong Hong, Seong Hye Choi, and Seong-Ho Koh from Hanyang University Guri Hospital, Hanyang University Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Dong-A University College of Medicine, Pusan National University Hospital, Eulji University Hospital, Eulji University School of Medicine, Konyang University College of Medicine, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, and Inha University College of Medicine, aimed to determine whether osteoporosis is independently associated with LTL shortening in a prospective longitudinal cohort.

"We compared the LTL values for each participant at baseline and over a 2-year follow-up period." 

Multivariable linear regression was conducted to identify whether osteoporosis is independently associated with the rate of telomere shortening. A total of 233 subjects (from 55 to 88 years) from the KBASE cohort were finally enrolled in the study. 

Multivariable linear regression analysis indicated that only osteoporosis was independently associated with rapid LTL shortening over 2 years (B, -8.08; p = 0.038).

"We sought to identify an association between osteoporosis and LTL shortening in an independent prospective cohort."