RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Shortening of leucocyte telomere length is independently correlated with high body mass index and subcutaneous obesity (predominantly truncal), in Asian Indian women with abnormal fasting glycemia JF BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care JO BMJ Open Diab Res Care FD American Diabetes Association SP e002706 DO 10.1136/bmjdrc-2021-002706 VO 10 IS 4 A1 Bhatt, Surya Prakash A1 Misra, Anoop A1 Pandey, Ravindra Mohan A1 Upadhyay, Ashish Datt YR 2022 UL http://drc.bmj.com/content/10/4/e002706.abstract AB Introduction Leucocyte telomere length (LTL) is linked to accelerate aging and premature mortality. In this research, we aimed to explore the relations between biochemical and anthropometry markers and LTL in Asian Indian women with abnormal fasting glycemia (impaired fasting glucose).Research design and methods In this study, 797 pre-diabetic women (obese, 492; non-obese, 305) were recruited. Demographic and clinical profiles, anthropometry, and fasting blood glucose were evaluated. LTL was quantified by a quantitative PCR. LTL was expressed as the relative telomere length or telomere repeat:single copy gene (T:S) ratio. The subjects were separated into quartiles according to the LTL.Results The average LTL was significantly decreased with increasing age. The average LTL was significantly shorter in obese women with abnormal fasting glycemia (p<0.05). R-squared (R2) statistic for multivariable linear model after adjusted for age, family income, education and hypertension showed that LTL was inversely correlated with body mass index (BMI), waist and hip circumference, waist-hip and waist-to-height ratio, truncal skinfolds (subscapular, and subscapular/triceps ratio, central and total skinfolds), fat mass (kg) and % body fat. The relationship between obesity measures and LTL (using the LTL quartile 1 as reference) identified central skinfolds (R2=0.92, p<0.0001), Σ4SF (R2=0.90, p<0.0001), BMI (R2=0.93, p<0.0001) and % body fat (R2=0.91, p<0.0001) as independent predictors of LTL.Conclusions Besides age, obesity and subcutaneous adiposity (predominantly truncal) are major contributors to telomere shortening in Asian Indian women with abnormal fasting glycemia (impaired fasting glucose).All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.