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No association between blood telomere length and longitudinally assessed diet or adiposity in a young adult Filipino population

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Abstract

Purpose

Telomeres, DNA–protein structures that cap and protect chromosomes, are thought to shorten more rapidly when exposed to chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. Diet and nutritional status may be a source of inflammation and oxidative stress. However, relationships between telomere length (TL) and diet or adiposity have primarily been studied cross-sectionally among older, overweight/obese populations and yielded inconsistent results. Little is known about the relationship between diet or body composition and TL among younger, low- to normal-weight populations. It also remains unclear how cumulative exposure to a specific diet or body composition during the years of growth and development, when telomere attrition is most rapid, may be related to TL in adulthood.

Methods

In a sample of 1459 young adult Filipinos, we assessed the relationship between blood TL at ages 20.8–22.5 and measures of BMI z-score, waist circumference, and diet collected between the ages of 8.5 and 22.5. TL was measured using monochrome multiplex quantitative PCR, and diet was measured using multiple 24-h recalls.

Results

We found no associations between blood TL and any of the measures of adiposity or between blood TL and the seven dietary factors examined: processed meats, fried/grilled meats and fish, non-fried fish, coconut oil, fruits and vegetables, bread and bread products, and sugar-sweetened beverages.

Conclusions

Considering the inconsistencies in the literature and our null results, small differences in body composition and consumption of any single pro- or anti-inflammatory dietary component may not by themselves have a meaningful impact on telomere integrity, or the impact may differ across distinct ecological circumstances.

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Acknowledgments

Partial support for this research came from a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (DGE-0718145 and DGE-1256082) to HJB and Shanahan Endowment Fellowship and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development research infrastructure and training grants (R24 HD042828 and T32 HD007543) to the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology at the University of Washington. The qPCR laboratory analysis was funded by National Science Foundation (Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant BCS-0962282), the Wenner-Gren Foundation (Gr. 8111), and institutional support from Northwestern University. Data and sample collection was funded by the National Institute of Health (Grants TW05596, DK078150, RR20649, ES10126, and DK056350). Importantly, we would like to acknowledge the participants and staff of the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey who made this study possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Hilary J. Bethancourt & Daniel T. A. Eisenberg

  2. Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Hilary J. Bethancourt & Daniel T. A. Eisenberg

  3. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Mario Kratz & Shirley A. A. Beresford

  4. Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA

    Mario Kratz & Shirley A. A. Beresford

  5. Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Mario Kratz

  6. Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    M. Geoffrey Hayes

  7. Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    M. Geoffrey Hayes & Christopher W. Kuzawa

  8. Center for Genetic Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    M. Geoffrey Hayes

  9. Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Christopher W. Kuzawa

  10. Office of Population Studies Foundation, University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines

    Paulita L. Duazo & Judith B. Borja

  11. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines

    Judith B. Borja

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  1. Hilary J. Bethancourt
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  2. Mario Kratz
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Correspondence to Hilary J. Bethancourt.

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Bethancourt, H.J., Kratz, M., Beresford, S.A.A. et al. No association between blood telomere length and longitudinally assessed diet or adiposity in a young adult Filipino population. Eur J Nutr 56, 295–308 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-015-1080-1

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