DNA damage in circulating leukocytes measured with the comet assay may predict the risk of death

The comet assay or single cell gel electrophoresis is the most common method used to measure strand breaks and a variety of other DNA lesions in human populations. To estimate the risk of overall mortality, mortality by cause, and cancer incidence associated with DNA damage, a cohort of 2,403 healthy individuals (25,978 person-years) screened in 16 laboratories using the comet assay between 1996 and 2016 was followed-up. Kaplan–Meier analysis indicated a worse overall survival in the medium and high tertile of DNA damage (p < 0.001). The effect of DNA damage on survival was modeled according to Cox proportional hazard regression model. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) was 1.42 (1.06–1.90) for overall mortality and 1.94 (1.04–3.59) for diseases of the circulatory system in subjects with the highest tertile of DNA damage. The findings of this study provide epidemiological evidence encouraging the implementation of the comet assay in preventive strategies for non-communicable diseases.

Keywords

Biomarkers Risk factor DNA damage Comet assay

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.21/13667

Citation

Bonassi S, Ceppi M, Møller P, Azqueta A, Milić M, Ladeira C, et al. DNA damage in circulating leukocytes measured with the comet assay may predict the risk of death. Sci Rep. 2021;11:16793.