Short Telomere Load, Telomere Length, and Subclinical Atherosclerosis: The PESA Study

Leucocyte telomere length (LTL) shortening is associated with cardiovascular ischemic events and mortality in humans, but data on its association with subclinical atherosclerosis are scarce. Whether the incidence and severity of subclinical atherosclerosis are associated with the abundance of critically short telomeres, a major trigger of cellular senescence, remains unknown. The authors conducted a cross-sectional exploration of the association between subclinical atherosclerosis burden and both average LTL and the abundance of short telomeres (%LTL