Telomere estimate has stronger health links in people with HIV
A cross-sectional comparison in 160 untreated and 143 long-term treated people with HIV found stronger links using an estimate based on DNA chemical marks.
160 participants
Limit: Future health outcomes were not measured
Stake: Gilead Sciences funded the study.
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
The cross-sectional study compared blood measures in 160 people with HIV who had never received HIV medicines and 143 long-term treated people with sustained viral suppression. Researchers estimated the length of telomeres, protective caps at chromosome ends, from DNA methylation, chemical marks on DNA. They compared this with a standard DNA-amplification test.
The measures were moderately correlated. Older age was linked to shorter telomere measures, more strongly with the DNA-mark estimate. The estimate also showed stronger links to female sex and ethnicity. Among never-treated participants, shorter estimates remained linked to higher blood virus levels and a lower ratio of two types of immune cells after adjustment for other factors. Among treated participants, shorter estimates remained linked to active hepatitis C coinfection and type 2 diabetes. The standard test showed no links to those conditions.
Why it matters
Telomere length is used as a marker of biological aging, making the choice of measurement important for research on how people with HIV age.
Caveats
This cross-sectional study measured associations, not causes or future health outcomes. The findings need validation and do not establish how well the estimate works in people without HIV.
The paper
Hospital Universitario La Paz
Clinical Epigenetics, May 19, 2026, Open access
