Association between telomere length and intima-media thickness of both common carotid arteries in patients with coronary heart disease: From the CORDIOPREV randomized controlled trial.

Ana Ojeda-Rodriguez, Juan F Alcala-Diaz, Oriol Alberto Rangel-Zuñiga, Antonio Pablo Arenas-de Larriva, Francisco M Gutierrez-Mariscal, Purificación Gómez-Luna, Jose D Torres-Peña, Antonio Garcia-Rios, Juan L Romero-Cabrera, Maria M Malagon, Pablo Perez-Martinez, Jose M Ordovas, Javier Delgado-Lista, Elena M Yubero-Serrano, Jose Lopez-Miranda

Journal: Atherosclerosis 2023;380():117193

PMID: 37549582

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

A critical telomere length (TL) is associated with cardiovascular mortality. Dietary habits have been demonstrated to affect cardiovascular risk. However, it remains unclear how exactly TL determines the response to specific dietary approaches in the reduction of arterial injury. We aimed to evaluate whether TL was associated with the progression of arterial injury (assessed by intima-media thickness of both common carotid arteries: IMT-CC), after long-term consumption of two healthy dietary models in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD).

METHODS

From the 1002 CHD patients of the CORDIOPREV study, 903 completed IMT-CC and TL evaluation at baseline and were randomized to follow a Mediterranean diet or a low-fat diet for 5 years.

RESULTS

Patients at risk of short TL (TL < 20th percentile) presented an elevated IMT-CC, (0.79 ± 0.17 vs patients at non-risk 0.74 ± 0.17 p < 0.001). TL and IMT-CC showed an inverse association (β = -0.035, p = 0.002). Patients who consumed a Mediterranean diet, regardless of the risk of short TL, showed a significant decrease in IMT-CC, with a higher reduction in those patients with risk of short TL (-0.03 ± 0.11, p = 0.036). TL (β = 0.019, p = 0.024), age (β = -0.001, p = 0.031), energy intake (β = -0.000, p = 0.036), use of statins (β = -0.027, p = 0.028) and allocation into the Mediterranean diet (vs low-fat diet) (β = -0.024, p = 0.003) were significant contributors to changes in IMT-CC.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients who had a reduced TL exhibited a greater decrease in IMT-CC after consuming a Mediterranean diet.

Address: Lipids and Atherosclerosis Unit, Internal Medicine Unit, Reina Sofia University Hospital, 14004, Cordoba, Spain; Department of Medical and Surgical Science, University of Cordoba, 14004, Córdoba, Spain; Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute of Cordoba (IMIBIC), Av. Menendez Pidal, s/n, 14004, Cordoba, Spain; CIBER Fisiopatologia de La Obesidad y Nutricion (CIBEROBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029, Madrid, Spain.; Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute of Cordoba (IMIBIC), Av. Menendez Pidal, s/n, 14004, Cordoba, Spain; Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology, University of Cordoba, 14004, Cordoba, Spain.; Nutrition and Genomics Laboratory, J.M.-US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, At Tufts University, Boston, MA, 02111, USA; IMDEA Alimentacion, Madrid, Spain; CNIC, 28049, Madrid, Spain.; Lipids and Atherosclerosis Unit, Internal Medicine Unit, Reina Sofia University Hospital, 14004, Cordoba, Spain; Department of Medical and Surgical Science, University of Cordoba, 14004, Córdoba, Spain; Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute of Cordoba (IMIBIC), Av. Menendez Pidal, s/n, 14004, Cordoba, Spain; CIBER Fisiopatologia de La Obesidad y Nutricion (CIBEROBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: [email protected].; Lipids and Atherosclerosis Unit, Internal Medicine Unit, Reina Sofia University Hospital, 14004, Cordoba, Spain; Department of Medical and Surgical Science, University of Cordoba, 14004, Córdoba, Spain; Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute of Cordoba (IMIBIC), Av. Menendez Pidal, s/n, 14004, Cordoba, Spain; CIBER Fisiopatologia de La Obesidad y Nutricion (CIBEROBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2023.117193

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MeSH Terms: Humans, Carotid Intima-Media Thickness, Carotid Artery Diseases, Risk Factors, Coronary Disease, Carotid Artery, Common, Diet, Mediterranean, Telomere, Carotid Arteries