Kerry S Flannagan1, Alison A Bowman1, Mercedes Mora-Plazas2, Constanza Marín2,3, Katie M Rentschler4, Laura S Rozek4, Eduardo Villamor5. 1. Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Room 5507 SPH II, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA. 2. Foundation for Research in Nutrition and Health, FINUSAD, Bogotá, Colombia. 3. University of La Sabana Medical School, Chía, Colombia. 4. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. 5. Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Room 5507 SPH II, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA. villamor@umich.edu.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a biomarker of inflammation and oxidative stress that predicts chronic disease risk. Nutritional factors are related to LTL in adulthood, but these associations are not well characterized in children. We examined whether micronutrient status biomarkers were associated with LTL in school-age children. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 330 boys and 393 girls aged 5-12 years from Bogotá, Colombia. We quantified blood concentrations of hemoglobin, ferritin, zinc, vitamin A, folate, and vitamin B-12; and measured LTL using qPCR in DNA extracted from buffy coat. We estimated mean differences in LTL by quartiles of micronutrient status biomarkers and categories of relevant sociodemographic and anthropometric covariates with the use of linear regression. RESULTS: In girls, plasma vitamin B-12 was positively associated with LTL (adjusted LTL difference between extreme vitamin B-12 quartiles = 0.11; P, trend = 0.02). LTL was also positively associated with birth order in girls (P, trend = 0.02). In boys, LTL was not related to the micronutrient status biomarkers but, unexpectedly, it was positively associated with birth weight (P = 0.02), height-for-age Z score (P, trend = 0.01), and serum C-reactive protein (P, trend = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: LTL is associated with vitamin B-12 status among girls. LTL is also associated with birth weight, height, and C-reactive protein in boys.
PURPOSE: Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a biomarker of inflammation and oxidative stress that predicts chronic disease risk. Nutritional factors are related to LTL in adulthood, but these associations are not well characterized in children. We examined whether micronutrient status biomarkers were associated with LTL in school-age children. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 330 boys and 393 girls aged 5-12 years from Bogotá, Colombia. We quantified blood concentrations of hemoglobin, ferritin, zinc, vitamin A, folate, and vitamin B-12; and measured LTL using qPCR in DNA extracted from buffy coat. We estimated mean differences in LTL by quartiles of micronutrient status biomarkers and categories of relevant sociodemographic and anthropometric covariates with the use of linear regression. RESULTS: In girls, plasma vitamin B-12 was positively associated with LTL (adjusted LTL difference between extreme vitamin B-12 quartiles = 0.11; P, trend = 0.02). LTL was also positively associated with birth order in girls (P, trend = 0.02). In boys, LTL was not related to the micronutrient status biomarkers but, unexpectedly, it was positively associated with birth weight (P = 0.02), height-for-age Z score (P, trend = 0.01), and serum C-reactive protein (P, trend = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: LTL is associated with vitamin B-12 status among girls. LTL is also associated with birth weight, height, and C-reactive protein in boys.
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