Relação entre o estilo de vida e o comprimento dos telômeros

Abstract

Background: Different life conditions have a negative effect on telomere length (TL), which is modulated by oxidative stress (OS), inflammation and lifestyle variables. Sitting time (ST) increases the risk of many physical and mental conditions in childhood. Objective: To assess the effects of sitting time in the length of telomeres. Methodology: a random sample of 77 health schoolchildren from Porto Alegre, answered a questionnaire to address physical activity (PA), were submitted to anthropometric measurements and blood sampling for analysis of relative telomere length. Generalized linear models (Tweedie model with Identity link function) were used to analyze their relationships between the telomere length (TL) (main outcome) and predictor variables (age, BMI, sex, PA, sitting time). Results: Girls predominated, the group’s mean age was 11.3 ± 1.3 years, the median of BMI Z-score 0.68 (IR -0.11 to 1.72), time of PA 145.0 (IR 50.0 to 311.2) min/week, sitting time was 31.5 (IR 21.0 to 44.75) hours/week and the median of TL 0.97 (IR 0.63 to 1.75). The results of univariate analysis, variables gender, PA, BMI-Z score, had no statistically significant association with TL. Age (β-0.189; 95%CI -0.338 to -0.040; p = 0,013) and ST (β -0,008; 95%CI -0.014 to -0.002; p = 0,009) were inversely associated with TL. In multivariate analysis, only ST remained statistically significant. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate a negative correlation between sitting time and telomere length in healthy scholar children. Showing that telomere length may serve as a marker related to sedentary behavior in school children.