Low intake of vitamin E accelerates cellular aging in patients with established cardiovascular disease: the CORDIOPREV study

Authors: CORINA, ANDREEA - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii; RANGEL-ZUNIGA, ORIOL - University Hospital Reina Sofia; JIMENEZ-LUCENA, ROSA - University Hospital Reina Sofia; ALCALA-DIAZ, JUAN - University Hospital Reina Sofia; QUINTANA-NAVARRO, GRACIA - University Hospital Reina Sofia; YUBERO-SERRANO, ELENA - University Hospital Reina Sofia; LOPEZ-MORENO, JAVIER - University Hospital Reina Sofia; DELGADO-LISTA, JAVIER - University Hospital Reina Sofia; TINAHONES, FRANCISCO - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii; ORDOVAS, JOSE - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University; LOPEZ-MIRANDA, JOSE - University Hospital Reina Sofia; PEREZ-MARTINEZ, PABLO - University Hospital Reina Sofia

Submitted to: The Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/7/2018
Publication Date: 8/27/2018
Citation: Corina, A., Rangel-Zuniga, O.A., Jimenez-Lucena, R., Alcala-Diaz, J.F., Quintana-Navarro, G., Yubero-Serrano, E.M., Lopez-Moreno, J., Delgado-Lista, J., Tinahones, F., Ordovas, J.M., Lopez-Miranda, J., Perez-Martinez, P. 2018. Low intake of vitamin E accelerates cellular aging in patients with established cardiovascular disease: the CORDIOPREV study. The Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/gly195.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/gly195

Interpretive Summary: Telomeres are the caps at the end of each strand of DNA that protect our chromosomes. They are an essential part of human cells that affect how our cells age, and their shortening is a biomarker of cellular aging that could be decelerated by proper nutrition. Our objective was to investigate the effect of dietary intake of vitamin E on biomarkers of aging in patients with established cardiovascular disease. For this purpose, white blood cells' telomere length was measured on 1,002 participants of the CORDIOPREV study. Dietary information was collected, and several biomarkers of oxidation were determined. We found that patients with an inadequate intake of vitamin E had shorter telomere length than those with adequate intake. Moreover, we observed a positive correlation between olive oil and fish consumption with telomere length. Our findings support the importance of sufficient consumption of the antioxidant vitamin E, and the value of the diet as a promoter of healthy aging.

Technical Abstract: Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) shortening is a biomarker of cellular aging that can be decelerated by diet. We aimed to investigate the effect of dietary intake of vitamin E on biomarkers of cellular senescence in patients with established cardiovascular disease. To this end, DNA from 1,002 participants of the CORDIOPREV study (NCT00924937) was isolated and LTL was measured by real-time PCR. Dietary information was collected using a 146-item food frequency questionnaire, and several oxidative stress and damage biomarkers were determined. We found that patients with an inadequate intake of vitamin E according to the European Food Safety Authority, U.S. Food and Nutrition Board, and Spanish dietary recommendation had shorter LTL than those with an adequate intake (p = .004, p = .015, and p = .005, respectively). Moreover, we observed a positive correlation between olive oil, fish consumption and LTL (r^2 = .083, p = .010; r^2 = .090, p = .006, respectively). Subjects who consumed more than 30 mL olive oil/day had longer LTL than subjects with lower consumption (p = .013). Furthermore, we observed higher glutathione peroxidase activity in subjects consuming less vitamin E (p = .031). Our findings support the importance of an adequate consumption of the antioxidant vitamin E, and the value of the diet as a modulating tool of the senescence process.