Higher serum vitamin D concentrations are associated with longer leukocyte telomere length in women
Open accessAbstract
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.
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“In addition, the profile of adipokines produced is dissimilar between the subcutaneous and abdominal adipose tissues.”
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IL-6 and TNF-a appear to be synthesised equally by different adipose tissue sites.
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From Dietary factors and low-grade inflammation in relation to overweight and obesity (2011) · cites this paper as [55]
Leptin is preferentially expressed and secreted by subcutaneous adipose tissue, while adiponectin, visfatin, omentin, resistin, PAI-1, IL-8, IL-7, IL-1a, MCP-1, TGF-b, growth-related oncogene, CCL5 and MIP-1b are expressed more in abdominal fat.
“Thus, leptin is preferentially expressed and secreted by subcutaneous adipose tissue (52) , while the expression of adiponectin, visfatin, omentin, resistin, PAI-1, IL-8, IL-7, IL-1a, MCP-1, TGF-b, growth-related oncogena, CCL5 and MIP-1b is higher in abdominal fat.”
From Dietary factors and low-grade inflammation in relation to overweight and obesity (2011) · cites this paper as [55]
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- Authors
- Richards, J. B., Valdes, A. M., Gardner, J. P., Paximadas, D., Kimura, M., Nessa, A., Lu, X., Surdulescu, G. L., Swaminathan, R., Spector, T. D., & Aviv, A.
- Affiliations
- St Thomas' Hospital (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Richards, J Brent
- Venue
- The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2007-11
- Volume
- 86
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1420-1425
- ISSN
- 0002-9165 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2196219
- OpenAlex
- W2160938379
- Cited by
- 237
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 16
- FWCI
- 6.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Rutgers University Community Repository (Rutgers University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey
- Wellcome Trust
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute on Aging (R01AG021593, AG021593, AG-020132, R01AG020132)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Vitamin D Research Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Telomeres, Telomerase, and Senescence
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Skin Protection and Aging
- Keywords
- vitamin D, leukocyte telomere length, telomere shortening, aging, inflammation, C-reactive protein, women, serum vitamin D levels, age-related diseases, menopause, hormone replacement therapy
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, C-Reactive Protein, Female, Humans, Leukocytes, Middle Aged, Vitamin D, Telomere
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