@article{ref1,
title="Depressive symptoms are associated with leukocyte telomere length in American Indians: findings from the Strong Heart Family Study",
journal="Aging (Albany NY)",
year="2016",
author="Zhao, Qi and Zhu, Yun and Yeh, Fawn and Lin, Jue and Lee, Elisa T. and Cole, Shelley A. and Calhoun, Darren and Zhao, Jinying",
volume="8",
number="11",
pages="2961-2970",
abstract="Patients with depression have an increased risk for many aging-related disorders, but the biological mechanisms underlying this link remain to be determined. Here we examined the association between depressive symptoms and leukocyte telomere length (LTL), a marker of biological aging, among 2,175 American Indians participating in the Strong Heart Family Study. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies of Depression Scale (CES-D), which was categorized into four levels: none (< 10), mild (10-15), moderate (16 -24), and severe (> 24). LTL (T/S ratio) was quantified by qPCR. The association between depressive symptoms and LTL was examined by multivariate generalized estimating equation models, adjusting for sociodemographic factors, lifestyle factors, and chronic conditions. <br><br>RESULTS showed that individuals with a higher level of depressive symptoms had shorter LTL. Specifically, LTL in participants reporting none, mild, moderate, and severe depressive symptoms were 1.000, 0.999, 0.988, and 0.966, respectively (P for trend = 0.0278). Moreover, gender appears to modulate the effect of reported depressive symptoms that fall in the severe range (CES-D > 24) on LTL (P for interaction = 0.0346). Our results suggest that depressive symptoms may accelerate biological aging through pathways beyond traditional risk factors in American Indians.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1945-4589",
doi="10.18632/aging.101104",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.18632/aging.101104"
}