Significant Shortening of Leukocyte Telomere Length in Korean Patients with Bipolar Disorder 1

ABSTRACT

Objective@#Telomere shortening has been seen in major psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder.However, only a few small studies have examined this in bipolar disorder (BD). We compared the telomere length in patients with BD1 or BD2 with that in matched healthy controls. @*Methods@#We included 215 patients with BD (128 BD1, 87 BD2) and 204 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Relative telomere length was determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The patients and controls were compared separately for age groups, sex, and BD subgroups (BD1 and BD2). @*Results@#We found significant telomere shortening in patients with BD1 (p ＜ 0.001), but not in patients with BD2.In male patients with BD1, the 30−39 year age group had significant shortening of telomere length than controls (p = 0.01). Female patients with BD1 in the 19−29-year age group had significantly shortened telomeres compared to the controls (p ＜ 0.01). @*Conclusion@#Our results suggest a significant reduction in telomere length in BD1. Telomere shortening would be a potential biomarker for BD.