Association of social support network with telomere length: A cross-sectional study with community-dwelling older adults.

Considering that telomere length can be determined not only by issues related to cell biology, but also by aspects related to social factors and environmental exposures, studies on the relationship between social aspects and telomere length can help to better understand the still little-known aspects of the human aging process. Thus, this research seeks to verify whether social support network is associated with telomere length in older adults. This is a cross-sectional study conducted with 448 individuals aged 60 years or older living in the urban area of a municipality in Brazil's countryside. The relative quantification of telomere length was obtained through real-time qPCR. Social support was assessed through the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Scale. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression were used in the data analysis. The evaluated social support networks for older adults are composed, on average, of 16.4 people and the percentage of older adults who reported up to five members in the network was 27.75%. The shorter telomere length was identified in 25% of the participants, and older adults who reported having up to five members in the support network were more likely to have shorter telomere length than the ones who reported more numerous networks (OR: 1.89, p=0.011), regardless of gender, age, household arrangement, cognitive decline and dependence for basic and instrumental activities of daily life, which suggests that measures that stimulate the creation and maintenance of social support networks should be implemented in order to improve the health of the older adults.