Fretts Amanda M, Howard Barbara V, Siscovick David S, Best Lyle G, Beresford Shirley Aa, Mete Mihriye, Eilat-Adar Sigal, Sotoodehnia Nona, Zhao Jinying
Departments of Epidemiology and
Georgetown and Howard Universities Center for Translational Sciences, Washington, DC.
J Nutr. 2016 Oct;146(10):2013-2018. doi: 10.3945/jn.116.234922. Epub 2016 Aug 24.
Telomeres are repetitive nucleotide sequences (TTAGGG) and their associated proteins at the end of eukaryote chromosomes. Telomere length shortens throughout the lifespan with each cell division, and leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is often used as a biomarker of cellular aging. LTL is related to many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. However, to our knowledge, the relation between LTL and risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, such as dietary intake of processed meat and unprocessed red meat, is largely unknown.
We examined the associations of processed meat intake and unprocessed red meat intake with LTL.
This cross-sectional study comprised 2846 American Indians from the Strong Heart Family Study who participated in the 2001-2003 examination. Dietary factors, including past-year consumption of processed meat and unprocessed red meat, were assessed with the use of a 119-item Block Food-Frequency Questionnaire. LTL was measured with the use of quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the associations of intake of processed meat and unprocessed red meat with LTL.
Consumption of processed meat was negatively associated with LTL after adjustment for age, sex, site, education, smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, and other dietary factors. For every additional daily serving of processed meat, LTL was 0.021 units (telomeric product-to-single-copy gene ratio) shorter (β ± SE = -0.021 ± 0.008, P = 0.009). No association was observed between the intake of unprocessed red meat and LTL (β ± SE = 0.008 ± 0.011, P = 0.46).
In the Strong Heart Family Study, consumption of processed meat, but not unprocessed red meat, was associated with shorter LTL, a potential mediator for several age-related diseases. Further studies are needed to better understand the biological mechanism by which processed meat intake influences cellular aging.
端粒是真核生物染色体末端的重复核苷酸序列（TTAGGG）及其相关蛋白。端粒长度在整个生命周期中随着每次细胞分裂而缩短，白细胞端粒长度（LTL）常被用作细胞衰老的生物标志物。LTL与许多慢性疾病有关，包括心血管疾病和糖尿病。然而，据我们所知，LTL与心血管疾病和糖尿病的危险因素之间的关系，如加工肉类和未加工红肉的饮食摄入量，在很大程度上尚不清楚。
我们研究了加工肉类摄入量和未加工红肉摄入量与LTL之间的关联。
这项横断面研究包括来自强心家族研究的2846名美国印第安人，他们参加了2001 - 2003年的检查。使用119项的Block食物频率问卷评估饮食因素，包括过去一年加工肉类和未加工红肉的消费量。使用定量聚合酶链反应测量LTL。采用广义估计方程来研究加工肉类和未加工红肉摄入量与LTL之间的关联。
在调整年龄、性别、地点、教育程度、吸烟、饮酒、身体活动和其他饮食因素后，加工肉类的消费与LTL呈负相关。每天每增加一份加工肉类，LTL缩短0.021个单位（端粒产物与单拷贝基因比率）（β±SE = -0.021±0.008，P = 0.009）。未观察到未加工红肉摄入量与LTL之间的关联（β±SE = 0.008±0.011，P = 0.46）。
在强心家族研究中，加工肉类的消费与较短的LTL相关，而未加工红肉则不然，LTL是几种与年龄相关疾病的潜在中介因素。需要进一步研究以更好地理解加工肉类摄入影响细胞衰老的生物学机制。
