Background Cognitive decline, a common process of brain ageing, has been associated with telomere length (TL). Delving into the identification of reliable biomarkers of brain ageing is essential to prevent accelerated cognitive impairment. Methods We selected 317 non-smoking ‘Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea-Plus’ (PREDIMED-Plus) participants (mean age, 65.8 ± 5.0 years) with metabolic syndrome from two trial centres who were following a lifestyle intervention. We measured TL and cognitive function at baseline and after 3 and 4 years of follow-up, respectively. Associations between baseline or 3-year changes in TL and baseline or 4-year changes in cognitive function were analysed using multivariable regression models. Results Baseline TL was not associated with baseline cognitive performance. Nevertheless, longer baseline TL was associated with improved 4-year changes in the Executive Function domain (β: 0.29; 95%CI: 0.12 to 0.44; P < 0.001) and the Global Cognitive Function domain (β: 0.19; 95%CI: 0.05 to 0.34; P = 0.010). Besides, a positive association was found between longer baseline TL and improved 4-year changes in the animal version of the Verbal Fluency Test (β: 0.33; 95%CI: 0.12 to 0.52; P = 0.002). By contrast, 3-year changes in TL were not associated with changes in cognitive function after 4 years. Conclusions Longer baseline TL could protect from cognitive decline and be used as a useful biomarker of brain ageing function in an older Mediterranean population at risk of cardiovascular disease and cognitive impairment.

中文翻译：

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心血管疾病高危地中海老年人群的端粒长度和 4 年认知功能变化


背景认知能力下降是大脑衰老的常见过程，与端粒长度 （TL） 有关。深入研究识别可靠的大脑衰老生物标志物对于防止加速认知障碍至关重要。方法 我们从两个试验中心选择了 317 名患有代谢综合征的非吸烟 'Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea-Plus' （PREDIMED-Plus） 参与者 （平均年龄 65.8 ± 5.0 岁），他们正在接受生活方式干预。我们分别在基线以及随访 3 年和 4 年后测量了 TL 和认知功能。使用多变量回归模型分析 TL 的基线或 3 年变化与认知功能的基线或 4 年变化之间的关联。结果 基线 TL 与基线认知表现无关。然而，较长的基线 TL 与执行功能领域的 4 年变化改善相关 （β： 0.29;95% CI： 0.12 至 0.44;P < 0.001）和整体认知功能域（β：0.19;95%CI：0.05 至 0.34;P = 0.010）。此外，在语言流利度测试的动物版本中，发现较长的基线 TL 与改善的 4 年变化之间存在正相关 （β： 0.33;95% CI： 0.12 至 0.52;P = 0.002）。相比之下，TL 的 3 年变化与 4 年后认知功能的变化无关。结论 较长的基线 TL 可以防止认知能力下降，并用作有心血管疾病和认知障碍风险的地中海老年人群大脑衰老功能的有用生物标志物。