Higher serum vitamin D concentrations are associated with longer leukocyte telomere length in women

• Published in: The American journal of clinical nutrition Vol. 86; no. 5; pp. 1420 - 1425
• Main Authors: Richards, J. Brent, Valdes, Ana M, Gardner, Jeffrey P, Paximadas, Dimitri, Kimura, Masayuki, Nessa, Ayrun, Lu, Xiaobin, Surdulescu, Gabriela L, Swaminathan, Rami, Spector, Tim D, Aviv, Abraham
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bethesda, MD American Society for Nutrition 01.11.2007; American Society for Clinical Nutrition
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; age; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging - blood; Aging - pathology; Biological and medical sciences; blood serum; C-reactive protein; C-Reactive Protein - analysis; chemical concentration; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; inflammation; length; leukocytes; Leukocytes - ultrastructure; Middle Aged; nutritional status; senescence; Telomere; telomeres; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; vitamin D; Vitamin D - blood; women; Human; Senescence; Vitamin D; Leukocyte; Length; Ageing; Female; Serum; Inflammation; Concentration; aging; telomere length
• ISSN: 0002-9165; 1938-3207
• DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/86.5.1420

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D is a potent inhibitor of the proinflammatory response and thereby diminishes turnover of leukocytes. Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a predictor of aging-related disease and decreases with each cell cycle and increased inflammation. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to examine whether vitamin D concentrations would attenuate the rate of telomere attrition in leukocytes, such that higher vitamin D concentrations would be associated with longer LTL. DESIGN: Serum vitamin D concentrations were measured in 2160 women aged 18-79 y (mean age: 49.4) from a large population-based cohort of twins. LTL was measured by using the Southern blot method. RESULTS: Age was negatively correlated with LTL (r = -0.40, P < 0.0001). Serum vitamin D concentrations were positively associated with LTL (r = 0.07, P = 0.0010), and this relation persisted after adjustment for age (r = 0.09, P < 0.0001) and other covariates (age, season of vitamin D measurement, menopausal status, use of hormone replacement therapy, and physical activity; P for trend across tertiles = 0.003). The difference in LTL between the highest and lowest tertiles of vitamin D was 107 base pairs (P = 0.0009), which is equivalent to 5.0 y of telomeric aging. This difference was further accentuated by increased concentrations of C-reactive protein, which is a measure of systemic inflammation. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that higher vitamin D concentrations, which are easily modifiable through nutritional supplementation, are associated with longer LTL, which underscores the potentially beneficial effects of this hormone on aging and age-related diseases.