The Journal of nutrition
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The Journal of nutrition · Apr 2017
Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Has a Modest Positive Association with Leukocyte Telomere Length in Middle-Aged US Adults.
Background: Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to all-cause mortality and cancer. However, the biological plausibility of these associations is not well established. Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) shortening is associated with aging and is a hallmark of genomic instability and carcinogenesis. ⋯ The association was independent of age, sex, race/ethnicity, BMI, and other factors. Conclusions: In a nationally representative population of adults, serum 25(OH)D was positively associated with LTL in middle-aged participants (aged 40-59 y), independently of other factors. These findings suggest that decreased 25(OH)D concentrations are associated with genomic instability, although the clinical impact of this observation remains unclear.