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Epidemiology

Healthy diets and telomere length and attrition during a 10-year follow-up

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 73, pages 1352–1360 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background

Telomeres are repeats of DNA that contain the sequence TTAGGG at the ends of each chromosome, and their function is to protect DNA from damage. Little evidence exists regarding the relationship between dietary patterns and telomere length, especially derived applying longitudinal design. The aim was to study if overall dietary pattern is associated with leukocyte telomere length (LTL) or faster telomere attrition or both.

Methods

The setting was longitudinal and observational. Participants were 456 men and 590 women whose birth settled in between 1934 and 1944 and who participated in the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. Baltic sea diet score (BSDS), modified Mediterranean diet score (mMED), and dietary inflammatory index (DII®) were calculated based on a 128-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) collected in 2001–2004. LTL was measured twice, in 2001–2004 and in 2011–2013 by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Association between the dietary patterns and LTL were analysed by general linear models with appropriate contrasts.

Results

BSDS, mMED, and DII did not associate with LTL in the cross-sectional analysis in men or women. Higher mMED at baseline (2001–2004) was associated with slightly faster LTL shortening during the follow-up (standardized ß −0.08, 95% CI −0.15, −0.01). No association between mMED and LTL change was found in men. Adherence to BSDS and DII did not associate with LTL change in men or women.

Conclusion

Baltic sea diet, Mediterranean diet, and diet’s inflammatory potential seem to have only little impact on telomere length and telomere attrition in elderly Finnish men and women.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by grants from Finska Läkaresällskapet, the Finnish Special Governmental Subsidy for Health Sciences, Academy of Finland, Samfundet Folkhälsan, Liv och Hälsa, the Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation, EU FP7 [Developmental Origins of Healthy Aging (DORIAN)] project number 278603, and EU H2020-PHC-2014-DynaHealth grant 633595 (all for the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study).

Funding

Supported by grants from Finska Läkaresällskapet, the Finnish Special Governmental Subsidy for Health Sciences, Academy of Finland, Samfundet Folkhälsan, Liv och Hälsa, the Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation, EU FP7 [Developmental Origins of Healthy Aging (DORIAN)] project number 278603, and EU H2020-PHC-2014-DynaHealth grant 633595 (all for the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study).

Author contributions

JM, JGE, SM, MMP, and HK designed research, JGE, MMP, NK, SM, PI, MAG, NS, and JRH provided essential materials, JM and HK performed statistical analysis, JM wrote the paper, JM had primary responsibility of final content, JM, JGE, SM, MMP, NK, PI, MAG, HK, JRH, and NS provided inputs to the paper and approved the final version of the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland

    Jelena Meinilä, Mia-Maria Perälä, Hannu Kautiainen & Johan G. Eriksson

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

    Jelena Meinilä

  3. Department of Public Health Solutions, National Institute of Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland

    Mia-Maria Perälä, Satu Männistö, Noora Kanerva & Johan G. Eriksson

  4. Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Noora Kanerva

  5. Cancer Prevention and Control Program, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Nitin Shivappa & James R. Hébert

  6. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Nitin Shivappa & James R. Hébert

  7. Connecting Health Innovations LLC, Columbia, SC, 29201, USA

    Nitin Shivappa & James R. Hébert

  8. Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council (IFC-CNR), Pisa, Italy

    Patricia Iozzo & Maria Angela Guzzardi

  9. Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

    Johan G. Eriksson

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Correspondence to Jelena Meinilä.

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Conflict of interest

Dr. James R. Hébert owns controlling interest in Connecting Health Innovations LLC (CHI), a company planning to license the right to his invention of the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) from the University of South Carolina in order to develop computer and smart phone applications for patient counseling and dietary intervention in clinical settings. Dr. Nitin Shivappa is an employee of CHI. The remaining authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Meinilä, J., Perälä, MM., Kautiainen, H. et al. Healthy diets and telomere length and attrition during a 10-year follow-up. Eur J Clin Nutr 73, 1352–1360 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0387-4

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