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Periconceptional environment predicts leukocyte telomere length in a cross-sectional study of 7-9 year old rural Gambian children

Periconceptional environment predicts leukocyte telomere length in a cross-sectional study of 7-9 year old rural Gambian children
Periconceptional environment predicts leukocyte telomere length in a cross-sectional study of 7-9 year old rural Gambian children

Early life exposures are important predictors of adult disease risk. Although the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown, telomere maintenance may be involved. This study investigated the relationship between seasonal differences in parental exposures at time of conception and leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in their offspring. LTL was measured in two cohorts of children aged 2 yrs (N = 487) and 7-9 yrs (N = 218). The association between date of conception and LTL was examined using Fourier regression models, adjusted for age, sex, leukocyte cell composition, and other potential confounders. We observed an effect of season in the older children in all models [likelihood ratio test (LRT) χ²2 = 7.1, p = 0.03; fully adjusted model]. LTL was greatest in children conceived in September (in the rainy season), and smallest in those conceived in March (in the dry season), with an effect size (LTL peak-nadir) of 0.60 z-scores. No effect of season was evident in the younger children (LRT χ²2 = 0.87, p = 0.65). The different results obtained for the two cohorts may reflect a delayed effect of season of conception on postnatal telomere maintenance. Alternatively, they may be explained by unmeasured differences in early life exposures, or the increased telomere attrition rate during infancy.

2045-2322
9675
Maasen, Kim
33cf5b90-e922-4133-b014-77e9e4638151
James, Philip T.
07c09e26-1d23-4dca-b3f4-e322b33bf72f
Prentice, Andrew M.
6b851f61-f989-48f6-8109-9a7408254728
Moore, Sophie E.
bea65f65-3f11-45cd-96d2-c088a18ccc55
Fall, Caroline
7171a105-34f5-4131-89d7-1aa639893b18
Chandak, Giriraj R.
d9d4d4ba-6a4b-450d-8889-02e599ca0e1c
Betts, Modupeh
f1ab0904-e3b7-4d7d-bbcc-9f5edfa65191
Silver, Matt J.
b80ecb7f-b011-4f37-9b9a-d0c63f1979c4
Buxton, Jessica L
07e45415-577d-4e3a-a9d2-ff6d69097c78
Maasen, Kim
33cf5b90-e922-4133-b014-77e9e4638151
James, Philip T.
07c09e26-1d23-4dca-b3f4-e322b33bf72f
Prentice, Andrew M.
6b851f61-f989-48f6-8109-9a7408254728
Moore, Sophie E.
bea65f65-3f11-45cd-96d2-c088a18ccc55
Fall, Caroline
7171a105-34f5-4131-89d7-1aa639893b18
Chandak, Giriraj R.
d9d4d4ba-6a4b-450d-8889-02e599ca0e1c
Betts, Modupeh
f1ab0904-e3b7-4d7d-bbcc-9f5edfa65191
Silver, Matt J.
b80ecb7f-b011-4f37-9b9a-d0c63f1979c4
Buxton, Jessica L
07e45415-577d-4e3a-a9d2-ff6d69097c78

Maasen, Kim, James, Philip T., Prentice, Andrew M., Moore, Sophie E., Fall, Caroline, Chandak, Giriraj R., Betts, Modupeh, Silver, Matt J. and Buxton, Jessica L (2020) Periconceptional environment predicts leukocyte telomere length in a cross-sectional study of 7-9 year old rural Gambian children. Scientific Reports, 10 (1), 9675, [9675]. (doi:10.1038/s41598-020-66729-9).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Early life exposures are important predictors of adult disease risk. Although the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown, telomere maintenance may be involved. This study investigated the relationship between seasonal differences in parental exposures at time of conception and leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in their offspring. LTL was measured in two cohorts of children aged 2 yrs (N = 487) and 7-9 yrs (N = 218). The association between date of conception and LTL was examined using Fourier regression models, adjusted for age, sex, leukocyte cell composition, and other potential confounders. We observed an effect of season in the older children in all models [likelihood ratio test (LRT) χ²2 = 7.1, p = 0.03; fully adjusted model]. LTL was greatest in children conceived in September (in the rainy season), and smallest in those conceived in March (in the dry season), with an effect size (LTL peak-nadir) of 0.60 z-scores. No effect of season was evident in the younger children (LRT χ²2 = 0.87, p = 0.65). The different results obtained for the two cohorts may reflect a delayed effect of season of conception on postnatal telomere maintenance. Alternatively, they may be explained by unmeasured differences in early life exposures, or the increased telomere attrition rate during infancy.

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Accepted/In Press date: 19 May 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 15 June 2020
Published date: 15 June 2020

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 441294
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/441294
ISSN: 2045-2322
PURE UUID: 60df7dab-bbc1-49e8-856d-9117934d8b0a
ORCID for Caroline Fall: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4402-5552

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Date deposited: 09 Jun 2020 16:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 05:37

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Contributors

Author: Kim Maasen
Author: Philip T. James
Author: Andrew M. Prentice
Author: Sophie E. Moore
Author: Caroline Fall ORCID iD
Author: Giriraj R. Chandak
Author: Modupeh Betts
Author: Matt J. Silver
Author: Jessica L Buxton

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