Influence of diet on leukocyte telomere length, markers of inflammation and oxidative stress in individuals with varied glucose tolerance: a Chinese population study

Study answer

What this study found

Telomere length differed by glucose status: longest in normal glucose tolerance, intermediate in pre-diabetes, shortest in newly diagnosed diabetes (log LTL: 2.01 ± 0.03, 1.97 ± 0.03, 1.89 ± 0.03). Among newly diagnosed diabetics, LTL adjusted for age was longer in HbA1c < 7% vs HbA1c ≥ 7% (log LTL 1.93 ± 0.25 vs 1.82 ± 0.29). LTL was not associated with daily energy intake or fat/carbohydrate proportions. Diet ingredients were linked to LTL: legumes, nuts, fish, and seaweeds associated with longer LTL; sweetened carbonated beverage associated with shorter LTL (β = 0.105, p = 0.018; β =…

Study & population

556 Chinese adults without known diabetes underwent a 75 g OGTT and were categorized as normal glucose tolerance (n=200), pre-diabetes (n=197), or newly diagnosed diabetes (n=159); cross-sectional observational study.

Key limitation

Cross-sectional design; moderate sample size; dietary assessment via FFQ with potential recall bias; measurement variability in LTL assay; potential selection bias due to higher BMI and systolic BP; results cannot establish causality or generalize beyond studied population.

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Original abstract