%0 Journal Article %A Jason M. Fletcher %T Spousal Concordance in Telomere Length: New Evidence from Older Adults in the US %D 2018 %R 10.1101/327528 %J bioRxiv %P 327528 %X Telomere length (TL) has been associated with a range of aging outcomes as well as mortality. Recent research has shown both high heritability (∼70 %) of TL as well as moderate spousal similarity (r∼.3) using European datasets. This paper explores the level of spousal concordance in telomere length in the Health and Retirement Study, a national sample of adults in the US. The results both show that the spousal similarity in TL is lower in the US and also varies by the length of time spouses have been married as well as the educational attainments of husbands. These findings suggest the possibility of both assortative mating patterns related to telomere length as well as likelihood of shared environmental factors that cause similarity in TL in people who are socially connected. %U https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2018/05/25/327528.full.pdf