Author: Crous-Bou M1, Fung TT2, Prescott J3, Julin B1, Du M4, Sun Q5, Rexrode KM6, Hu FB7, De Vivo I8.
Affiliation: 1Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA Department of Epidemiology, Program in Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. 2Department of Nutrition, Simmons College, Boston, MA 02115, USA Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston. 3Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. 4Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA Public Health Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA nhidv@channing.harvard.edu. 5Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston. 6Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston. 7Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA Department of Epidemiology, Program in Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston. 8Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA Department of Epidemiology, Program in Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA nhidv@channing.harvard.edu.
Conference/Journal: BMJ
Date published: 2014 Dec 2
Other:
Volume ID: 349 , Pages: g6674 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1136/bmj.g6674. , Word Count: 178
OBJECTIVE:
To examine whether adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with longer telomere length, a biomarker of aging.
DESIGN:
Population based cohort study.
SETTING:
Nurses' Health Study, an ongoing prospective cohort study of 121 700 nurses enrolled in 1976; in 1989-90 a subset of 32 825 women provided blood samples.
PARTICIPANTS:
4676 disease-free women from nested case-control studies within the Nurses' Health Study with telomere length measured who also completed food frequency questionnaires.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE:
Association between relative telomere lengths in peripheral blood leukocytes measured by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction and Alternate Mediterranean Diet score calculated from self reported dietary data.
RESULTS:
Greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with longer telomeres after adjustment for potential confounders. Least squares mean telomere length z scores were -0.038 (SE 0.035) for the lowest Mediterranean diet score groups and 0.072 (0.030) for the highest group (P for trend=0.004).
CONCLUSION:
In this large study, greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with longer telomeres. These results further support the benefits of adherence to the Mediterranean diet for promoting health and longevity.
© Crous-Bou et al 2014.
PMID: 25467028