Distribution of Telomere Length in the Cord Blood of Chinese Newborns

Aims: We studied the variability in telomere length in cord blood collected from newborns of different birth weights and gestational ages.
Study Design: Prospective cohort study.
Place and Duration of Study: Samples were collected from KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital between March 2011 and March 2012 and the terminal restriction fragment assays (TRF) were performed at the Department of Physiology, National University of Singapore.
Methodology: Cord blood samples were prospectively collected in EDTA or heparin tubes for deliveries from Chinese parents. TRF assays were performed on genomic DNA extracted from whole blood. Data was collected for birth weight, gestational age, and maternal age. Variance analyses of telomere lengths and correlation coefficients were calculated using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).
Results: The birth weight of the samples collected ranged from 0.61 kg to 5.18 kg with gestation age from 196 to 288 days. TRF results from 184 samples (96 males, 88 females) showed that there was a wide range from 6.6 kbp to 19.2 kbp. The mean TRF length was 12.64 kb (males: 12.33 kb ± 2.50; females: 12.99 kb ± 2.35). There was no statistically significant correlation of TRF with birth weight, gestation age or maternal age. There was highly significant correlation of birth weight with gestational age (P=0.00).
Conclusion: Our results showed no correlation of either gestational age or birth weight with telomere length as measured by TRF assay.