A previous case-control study of 100 individuals found that short telomere length was associated with a 28-fold increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
To test the hypothesis that short telomere length is associated with reduced lung function and an increased risk of COPD.
Observational study of 46 396 individuals from the Danish general population.
Leucocyte telomere length and spirometry were measured. COPD was defined using either fixed forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio