Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Jun 15;177(12):1411-7.
doi: 10.1093/aje/kws435. Epub 2013 May 9.

Plasma vitamin D biomarkers and leukocyte telomere length

Jason J Liu  1 , Jennifer Prescott, Edward Giovannucci, Susan E Hankinson, Bernard Rosner, Jiali Han, Immaculata De Vivo
Affiliations

Plasma vitamin D biomarkers and leukocyte telomere length

Jason J Liu et al. Am J Epidemiol. .

Abstract

Vitamin D may reduce telomere shortening through anti-inflammatory and anti-cell proliferation mechanisms. In the present study, we examined the association between vitamin D and relative leukocyte telomere length by using both plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) biomarkers. Vitamin D biomarker levels and leukocyte telomere length were measured using plasma samples collected in 1989-1990 from participants of the Nurses' Health Study, a study of nurses from 11 US states. In total, 1,424 participants had their 25(OH)D levels assessed and 837 had their 1,25(OH)2D levels assessed. Genotyping was performed on 480 participants on 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms in vitamin D-related genes. Linear and logistic regression models were used. Higher 25(OH)D levels were significantly associated with longer telomere length (P for trend = 0.05), and the odds ratio increased from 1.07 (P = 0.65) when comparing the second lowest quartile of 25(OH)D with the lowest to 1.59 (P = 0.01) when comparing the highest quartile with the lowest. Vitamin D-related single nucleotide polymorphisms and 1,25(OH)2D levels were not significantly associated with telomere length. Total calcium intake significantly modified the association between 25(OH)D and telomere length (P for interaction = 0.05). Higher plasma 25(OH)D levels may be associated with longer telomeres, and this association may be modified by calcium intake.

Keywords: 1,25(OH)2D; 25(OH)D; epidemiology; telomere length.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Deeb KK, Trump DL, Johnson CS. Vitamin D signaling pathways in cancer: potential for anticancer therapeutics. Nat Rev Cancer. 2007;7(9):684–700. - PubMed
    1. Nagpal S, Na S, Rathnachalam R. Noncalcemic actions of vitamin D receptor ligands. Endocr Rev. 2005;26(5):662–687. - PubMed
    1. Holick MF. Vitamin D deficiency. N Engl J Med. 2007;357(3):266–281. - PubMed
    1. Houben JM, Moonen HJ, van Schooten FJ, et al. Telomere length assessment: biomarker of chronic oxidative stress? Free Radic Biol Med. 2008;44(3):235–246. - PubMed
    1. von Zglinicki T. Role of oxidative stress in telomere length regulation and replicative senescence. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2000;908:99–110. - PubMed

Publication types