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Although leukocyte telomere length is associated with mortality and many chronic diseases thought to be manifestations of age-related functional decline, it is not known whether it relates to acute disease in younger healthy populations.

To determine whether shorter telomeres in leukocytes, especially CD8CD28− T cells, are associated with decreased resistance to upper respiratory infection and clinical illness in young to midlife adults.

Between 2008 and 2011, telomere length was assessed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and T-cell subsets (CD4, CD8CD28+, CD8CD28−) from 152 healthy 18- to 55-year-old residents of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Participants were subsequently quarantined (single rooms), administered nasal drops containing a common cold virus (rhinovirus 39), and monitored for 5 days for development of infection and clinical …