Two somewhat fresh longitudinal studies back to back:
Telomere length is hypothesised to be a biological marker of both cognitive and physical ageing. Here we measure telomere length, and cognitive and physical abilities at mean ages 70, 73 and 76 years in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (LBC1936), and at mean ages 79, 87, 90 and 92 years in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 (LBC1921). We investigate whether telomere length change predicts change in cognitive and physical abilities. In LBC1936 telomere length decreased by an average of 65 base pairs per year and in LBC1921 by 69 base pairs per year. However, change in telomere length did not predict change in cognitive or physical abilities. This study shows that, although cognitive ability, walking speed, lung function and grip strength all decline with age, they do so independently of telomere length shortening.
http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC4798845/
Telomere length in leukocytes was measured using the quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between telomere length and incidence of frailty. Among 2006 subjects (mean age 72.4 ± 5.1 years, 51.3% women), the mean telomere length at baseline was 9.1 ± 2.0 kb and the frailty phenotype was detected in 127 subjects (6.3%). Male gender was related to shorter telomere length, with increased years of age related to a shortened telomere length (P < 0.05). In both men and women, no statistically significant difference of telomere length and the frailty phenotype was observed at baseline. After 4 years of follow-up, 116 cases of frailty were identified. There was no association between telomere length and incident frailty. In conclusion, telomere length was not associated with frailty in this study population.
http://www.sciencedi...047637415300191
Incidentally they measured the telomere length in leukocytes. So whether Liz Parish lives longer than she would've before it looks like her health won't be better in any perceivable way.
