Association between telomere length and cognitive ability in a community-based sample.

Prior research suggests that telomere length is a biomarker of cognitive aging; however, literature has demonstrated conflicting findings to date. The present study uses data from the Dallas Heart Study, N = 2606, to assess the association between telomere length and cognitive ability on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. The data do not support a relationship between telomere length and general cognitive functioning, (β = 0.016, SE = 0.31, p = 0.407). The data further replicate the negative findings within current literature.