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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutritional Epidemiology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1479994

Relationship between serum carotenoids and telomere length in overweight or obese individuals

Provisionally accepted
Jiang Wang Jiang Wang 1Fayi Xie Fayi Xie 1*Wan Zhu Wan Zhu 1*Dongmei Ye Dongmei Ye 1*Yi Xiao Yi Xiao 1*Mengxia Shi Mengxia Shi 1*Rui Zeng Rui Zeng 1Jiahui Bian Jiahui Bian 1*Xiao Xu Xiao Xu 2*Lihuan Chen Lihuan Chen 1*Aizhang Zhu Aizhang Zhu 1*Ke Zhu Ke Zhu 1*Tenghui Fan Tenghui Fan 1*Bin Liu Bin Liu 1*Liyan Xiao Liyan Xiao 1*Xiaoming Zhang Xiaoming Zhang 3*
  • 1 Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, China
  • 2 Tongji University, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
  • 3 Shenzhen Baoan People's Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Previous researches have demonstrated an association between carotenoids and elongated telomeres. Nonetheless, there is scant scientific evidence examining this relationship in individuals who are overweight or obese, a demographic more predisposed to accelerated aging. This study aims to elucidate the correlation between serum carotenoid concentrations and telomere length within this population group.: Data were sourced from the 2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, encompassing 2,353 overweight or obese participants. The levels of α-carotene, β-carotene (both trans and cis isomers), β-cryptoxanthin, lutein/zeaxanthin, and trans-lycopene were quantified via high-performance liquid chromatography. Telomere length was assessed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction.Results: Following adjustment for potential confounders, telomere length exhibited an increase of 1.83 base pairs (bp) per unit elevation in β-carotene levels (β = 1.83; 95% CI: 0.48, 3.18). Within the fully adjusted model, telomere length incremented by 1.7 bp per unit increase in serum β-carotene among overweight individuals (β = 1.7; 95% CI: 0.1, 3.3), and by 2.6 bp per unit increase among obese individuals (β = 2.6; 95% CI: 4 0.1, 5.0). Furthermore, restricted cubic spline analysis revealed a linear relationship between β-carotene levels and telomere length, whereas a non-linear association was observed between β-cryptoxanthin levels and telomere length.Conclusions: This investigation indicates that higher serum β-carotene concentrations are linked with extended telomere length in overweight and obese populations in the United States. These findings warrant further validation through prospective studies.

    Keywords: β-Carotene, Carotenoids, NHANES, Obesity, telomeres

    Received: 13 Aug 2024; Accepted: 13 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang, Xie, Zhu, Ye, Xiao, Shi, Zeng, Bian, Xu, Chen, Zhu, Zhu, Fan, Liu, Xiao and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Fayi Xie, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, China
    Wan Zhu, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, China
    Dongmei Ye, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, China
    Yi Xiao, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, China
    Mengxia Shi, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, China
    Jiahui Bian, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, China
    Xiao Xu, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, Shanghai Municipality, China
    Lihuan Chen, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, China
    Aizhang Zhu, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, China
    Ke Zhu, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, China
    Tenghui Fan, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, China
    Bin Liu, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, China
    Liyan Xiao, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, China
    Xiaoming Zhang, Shenzhen Baoan People's Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.