Kim H, Cho SJ, Yoo SH, Kim SH, Ahn YM. J. Psychosom. Res. 2019; 120: 8-11.
Affiliation
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 103 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea; Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: aym@snu.ac.kr.
OBJECTIVE: Telomere length has emerged as a cumulative marker for lifestyle, psychosocial stress, and cytotoxic environments. We aimed to examine the possible association between leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and completed suicide.
METHODS: This study included 71 suicide completers and 117 healthy controls for whom LTL was determined by the ratio of the telomere repeat copy number to the single-copy gene copy number (T/S ratio). We compared the LTL between the suicide completers and the healthy controls and estimated the odds ratio (OR) for suicide for each age group, applying a generalized estimating equation (GEE).
RESULTS: LTL was significantly shortened in the suicide completers as compared with the controls, overall subjects, or within-age categories (≤29 and 30-49 years). Furthermore, a longer LTL was associated with significantly decreased odds of completed suicide for those aged ≤29 years and 30-49 years (OR = 0.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.03-0.37, p < .001 for the ≤29-year age group; OR = 0.54, 95% CI 0.34-0.84, p = .006 for the 30- to 49-year age group).
CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence regarding the relationship between shortened LTL and completed suicide, especially in those aged <50 years. Future research should further assess potential confounders and examine underlying mechanisms.