ArticlePloS one2013
Mediterranean diet, telomere maintenance and health status among elderly.
Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 84 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
84 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 189 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Impact of Foods, Nutrients, or Dietary Patterns on Telomere Length in Childhood and Adolescence: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- The Effect of Nutrition on Aging-A Systematic Review Focusing on Aging-Related Biomarkers.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Mediterranean Diet and Telomere Length: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2020Pooled it
- Impact of Nutrition on Telomere Health: Systematic Review of Observational Cohort Studies and Randomized Clinical Trials.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2020Pooled it
- Dietary patterns, food groups and telomere length: a systematic review of current studies.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2017Pooled it
- Leukocyte telomere length and serum polyunsaturated fatty acids, dietary habits, cardiovascular risk factors and features of myocardial infarction in elderly patients.BMC geriatrics · 2019Trial
- Short-Term Dietary Intervention with Cooked but Not RawNutrients · 2019Trial
- Dietary inflammatory index and telomere length in subjects with a high cardiovascular disease risk from the PREDIMED-NAVARRA study: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses over 5 y.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2015Trial
- Geroprotective applications of oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol through the hallmarks of ageing.GeroScience · 2026Review
- Decoding the Longevity Networks of the Mediterranean Diet: Systems Biology and Multi-Pathway Mechanisms Shaping Healthspan.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Telomere length promotes colorectal cancer through dual parallel pathways involving growth signaling and protein metabolism.Tropical medicine and health · 2025Article
- Maternal Lifestyle During Pregnancy and Its Influence on Offspring's Telomere Length.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Review
- Comparison of Nutrient Intake Across Different Dietary Patterns in Brazilian Community-Dwelling Older Adults.Nutrients · 2025Article
- A Review of Telomere Attrition in Cancer and Aging: Current Molecular Insights and Future Therapeutic Approaches.Cancers · 2025Review
- Micronutrient intake and telomere length: findings from the UK Biobank.European journal of nutrition · 2024Article
- Searching for Beauty and Health: Aging in Women, Nutrition, and the Secret in Telomeres.Nutrients · 2024Review
- The Impact of the Mediterranean Diet on Telomere Biology: Implications for Disease Management-A Narrative Review.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Aging Processes Are Affected by Energy Balance: Focused on the Effects of Nutrition and Physical Activity on Telomere Length.Current nutrition reports · 2024Review
- An Optimal Dietary Pattern for Healthy Longevity: Scoping Differencing Review between the Mediterranean and the Japanese Diet.Endocrine, metabolic & immune disorders drug targets · 2024Article
24 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and rate of telomere shortening are known biomarkers of aging while, numerous studies showed that Mediterranean diet (MD) may boost longevity. We studied association between telomere length, telomerase activity and different adherence to MD and its effects on healthy status. The study was conducted in 217 elderly subjects stratified according Mediterranean diet score (MDS) in low adherence (MDS≤3), medium adherence (MDS 4-5) and high adherence (MDS≥6) groups. LTL was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and telomerase activity by a PCR-ELISA protocol. High adherence group showed longer LTL (p = 0.003) and higher telomerase activity (p = 0.013) compared to others. Linear regression analysis including age, gender, smoking habit and MDS showed that MDS was independently associated with LTL (p = 0.024) and telomerase activity levels (p = 0.006). Telomerase activity was independently associated with LTL (p = 0.007) and negatively modulated by inflammation and oxidative stress. Indeed, telomerase levels were associated with healthy status independently of multiple covariates (p = 0.048). These results support a novel role of MD in promoting health-span suggesting that telomere maintenance, rather than LTL variability is the major determinant of healthy status among elderly.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.