title: Higher serum vitamin D concentrations are associated with longer leukocyte telomere length in women.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, St Thomas' Hospital, King's College, London School of Medicine, London, United Kingdom. brent.richards@kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: J Brent
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.forename: Ana M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Valdes
authors.forename: Jeffrey P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: Dimitri
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Paximadas
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Ayrun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nessa
authors.forename: Xiaobin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Gabriela L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Surdulescu
authors.forename: Rami
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Swaminathan
authors.forename: Tim D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Spector
authors.forename: Abraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aviv
mesh_terms: 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*
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D; D002097:C-Reactive Protein