Association Between Ultraprocessed Foods Consumption and Leucocyte Telomere Length: A Cross-Sectional Study of UK Biobank

Abstract

Background□ ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the association between consumption of ultraprocessed foods and leucocyte telomere length (LTL). MethodsThis cross-sectional study utilized data from the UK Biobank, including a total of 64,690 participants. LTL was measured using qPCR with natural logarithmic conversion and z-score normalization. Dietary data were collected through a 24-h recall questionnaire from 2009 to 2010. Ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) were identified using the NOVA food classification as either a continuous or a categorical variable. Multiple linear regression models were employed to analyze the association between UPF consumption and LTL. ResultsThe included participants had an average age of 56.26 y, of whom 55.2% were female. After adjusting for demographic and health-related variables, LTL exhibited a decrease of 0.005 (95% CI: −0.007, −0.002) with 1 UPF serving increase. Compared with participants consuming ≤3.5 servings/d, those consuming 3.5 to <6 servings showed a shortening of LTL by 0.025 (95% CI: −0.046, −0.003). Participants consuming 6 to ≤8 servings/d and >8 servings/d had LTL shortening of 0.032 (95% CI: −0.054, −0.011) and 0.037 (95% CI: −0.060, −0.014), respectively (P for trend = 0.002). Subgroup analyses by UPF subclasses revealed that the consumption of ready-to-eat/heated food (β: −0.010; 95% CI: −0.016, −0.004), beans and potatoes (β: −0.027; 95% CI: −0.043, −0.012), animal-based products (β: −0.012; 95% CI: −0.020, −0.005), artificial sugar (β: −0.014; 95% CI:−0.025,−0.003), and beverages (β: −0.005; 95% CI: −0.009, −0.001) showed negative associations with LTL. Conversely, breakfast cereals (β: 0.022; 95% CI: 0.006, 0.038) and vegetarian alternatives (β: 0.056; 95% CI:0.026,0.085) showed positive correlations with LTL. ConclusionsOur study found that a higher consumption of total UPF was associated with a shorter LTL. However, some UPFs may be associated with longer LTL, depending on their nutritional composition.