Graduate Program in Pathology, Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre/RS, Brazil.
Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Physiology and Toxicology, University of Navarra, Madrid, Spain.
Nutrition. 2020 Mar;71:110645. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2019.110645. Epub 2019 Nov 9.
Lifestyle, obesity, and eating habits are emerging as determinants for the instability of telomeres. The increase in childhood and adolescent obesity and the association of biochemical profiles and dietary components with telomere length (TL) makes it an important issue in nutritional research. The aim of the present study was to investigate TL and its association with ethnic background, adiposity, clinical and biochemical parameters, and dietary patterns among Brazilian children and adolescents.
A cross-sectional study encompassing 981 children and adolescents between 7 and 17 y of age was performed. Dietary intake habits, anthropometry, and clinical data were collected. TL analysis was performed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction.
Children presented significantly longer TL than adolescents (P = 0.046). Participants who self-declared as black, mulatto, or brown (P < 0.001) also showed longer TL than those who were white. Regarding biochemical parameters, individuals with altered glucose levels had shorter TL than normoglycemic participants in the total sample (P = 0.014). Such difference remained statistically significant in adolescents (P = 0.019). Participants who reported eating fruits and vegetables regularly had longer TL than those who did not (P < 0.001).
The results suggested that both biochemical parameters and the intake of antioxidant-rich food, such as fruits and vegetables, are associated with the stability of telomere biology among young Brazilians.
生活方式、肥胖和饮食习惯正成为端粒不稳定的决定因素。儿童和青少年肥胖的增加以及生化特征和饮食成分与端粒长度 (TL) 的相关性使得其成为营养研究中的一个重要问题。本研究旨在调查 TL 及其与巴西儿童和青少年的种族背景、肥胖、临床和生化参数以及饮食模式的关系。
进行了一项横断面研究，纳入了 981 名 7 至 17 岁的儿童和青少年。收集了饮食摄入习惯、人体测量学和临床数据。通过定量聚合酶链反应分析 TL。
儿童的 TL 明显长于青少年 (P = 0.046)。自我报告为黑人、混血儿或棕色人种的参与者 (P < 0.001) 的 TL 也长于白人。关于生化参数，在总样本中，血糖水平异常的个体的 TL 短于血糖正常的参与者 (P = 0.014)。这种差异在青少年中仍然具有统计学意义 (P = 0.019)。报告经常食用水果和蔬菜的参与者的 TL 长于不经常食用的参与者 (P < 0.001)。
研究结果表明，生化参数以及摄入富含抗氧化剂的食物，如水果和蔬菜，与巴西年轻人端粒生物学的稳定性有关。
