Telomere Length and Risk of Cancer and Non-Neoplastic Diseases

To the Editor In a recent publication, Haycock et al focused on the association between telomere length and risk of cancer and non-neoplastic diseases. Findings in this Mendelian randomization study showed that genetically longer telomeres were linked to higher odds ratio for 9 of 22 primary cancers tested but to reduced odds of disease for 6 of 32 primary non-neoplastic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases. From their results, the authors concluded that longer telomeres increase risk for several cancers but reduce risk for some non-neoplastic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases.

http://ift.tt/2wM9zrj