Body Fat And Cellular Aging: Important Players In Cardiac Aging

Introduction: Telomere length (TL), a marker of cellular aging, has been linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Recent studies suggest that obesity (as defined by body-mass index (BMI) may induce premature cardiovascular (CV) aging in association with telomere shortening via oxidative stress mechanisms. However, sarcopenia and accumulation of body fat with aging may confound the use of BMI as a metric of obesity evaluation among aged adults. We hypothesize that body fat mass (BFM), and not BMI, is associated with shorter TL, which in turn is associated impairments in diastolic function in these aged adults. Methods: We studied community based participants without known CVD. Eligible participants underwent detailed body composition analyzer that measures BFM. They underwent tissue Doppler echocardiography for assessment of myocardial diastolic function. Lymphocytes were isolated from the blood samples using Ficoll-Paque. TL was measured in isolated lymphocytes at G1, using the flow cytometric method. Resu...