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


METHODS
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.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Richards
J Brent
JB
Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, St Thomas' Hospital, King's College, London School of Medicine, London, United Kingdom. brent.richards@kcl.ac.uk
Valdes
Ana M
AM
Gardner
Jeffrey P
JP
Paximadas
Dimitri
D
Kimura
Masayuki
M
Nessa
Ayrun
A
Lu
Xiaobin
X
Surdulescu
Gabriela L
GL
Swaminathan
Rami
R
Spector
Tim D
TD
Aviv
Abraham
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016615:Telomere; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000097:blood*
D014807:Vitamin D; D002097:C-Reactive Protein