Association of a biomarker-based frailty index with telomere length in older US adults: Findings from NHANES 1999-2002
ObjectivesTo study the link between frailty and cellular senescence, we examine the association of leukocyte telomere length (LTL) with a recently introduced measure of subclinical frailty that is based entirely on laboratory test biomarkers (FI-LAB).\n\nMethodsThis study was conducted on a random sample of 1890 Americans aged 60+. Multiple Linear Regression was used to examine the relationship between FI-LAB and LTL.\n\nResultsA statistically significant association was found between FI-LAB and LTL after adjusting for multiple covariates, indicating that higher FI-LAB scores are associated with shorter telomeres.\n\nDiscussionOur study results establish a link between subclinical frailty (FI-LAB) and cellular aging, which may help elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms giving rise to frailty.