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Telomere length as a biomarker of exposure to indoor woodstove smoke in rural Honduras: a feasibility field study
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Altina, Noelia, author; DeLuca, Jennifer, advisor; Bailey, Susan, advisor; Ross, Eric, committee member; Clark, Maggie, committee member
Telomeres, the natural ends of linear chromosomes, are important for maintaining genome stability. Telomere length is an inherited trait influenced by a host of lifestyle and environmental factors, which have been shown to accelerate the rate of telomere shortening, and thus of aging. Indoor air pollution is one of the environmental factors known to influence the length of telomeres. It has been reported that people exposed to this kind of contamination, have an increased risk for pulmonary diseases, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. The accumulation of evidence correlating telomere length with different diseases and chronological age supports the use of short telomere frequency as an informative biomarker of general health status and aging. Epidemiological studies suggest that increased frequencies of nuclear aberrations (micronuclei, buds) are also correlated with exposure to air pollution.