Sex-specific modulating role of social support in the associations between oxidative stress, inflammation, and telomere length in older adults.

Zhou Jin, Xuejian Liu, Haonan Guo, Sixuan Chen, Xianghe Zhu, Sipei Pan, Yili Wu

Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Wenzhou Key Laboratory of Basic and Translational Research for Mental Disorders, School of Mental Health and The Affiliated Wenzhou Kangning Hospital, Key Laboratory of Alzheimer's Disease of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Aging, Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325000, Zhejiang, China.Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Wenzhou Key Laboratory of Basic and Translational Research for Mental Disorders, School of Mental Health and The Affiliated Wenzhou Kangning Hospital, Key Laboratory of Alzheimer's Disease of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Aging, Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325000, Zhejiang, China. · pubmed

Paper

Abstract

Telomere length, a biomarker of human aging, is related to adverse health outcomes. Growing evidence indicates that oxidative stress and inflammation contributes to telomere shortening, whereas social support may protect from telomere shortening. Despite sex differences in telomere length and social support, little is known about whether there are sex differences in the relationship between oxidative stress/inflammation and telomere length, and sex-specific moderating roles of social support in older adults. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2002, this study assessed whether the associations between oxidative stress/inflammation and telomere length vary with sex and explored social support as a moderator in these associations among 2289 older adults. Oxidative stress was measured based on serum Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and inflammation was measured based on C-reactive protein (CRP). After adjusting for the covariates, GGT was significantly associated with telomere length in females only (β = - 0.037, 95% CI = - 0.070, - 0.005), while CRP was associated with telomere length in males only (β = - 0.019, 95% CI = - 0.035, - 0.002). Moreover, high social support mitigated the negative association between GGT and telomere length, which was more evident in females. Furthermore, social support moderated the association between CRP and telomere length in males aged 70 and above. Our findings indicated that biological mechanisms related to telomere length may vary with sex, while social support plays a sex-specific moderating role.

The following analysis is generated by AI and may contain errors. It is separate from the authors’ abstract and is not peer review.

Research summary

The paper investigates the relationship between oxidative stress, inflammation, and telomere length, which are all critical factors in the biological aging process. It also explores the role of social support as a moderating factor, highlighting sex differences in these associations. While the findings contribute to understanding the mechanisms of aging, the study primarily focuses on observational associations rather than interventions or solutions to aging. Thus, it represents solid research but with limited impact on advancing the field significantly.

Author of this paper? Send a correction.