Mass General Brigham-led randomized trial suggests vitamin D can protect against telomere shortening, which is linked to risk of age-related disease 

Mass General Brigham-led randomized trial suggests vitamin D can protect against telomere shortening, which is linked to risk of age-related disease 

Results from the VITAL randomized controlled trial reveal that vitamin D supplementation helps maintain telomeres, protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that shorten during aging and are linked to the development of certain diseases. The new report, which is published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, is based on data from a VITAL sub-study co-led by researchers at Mass General Brigham and the Medical College of Georgia, and supports a promising role in slowing a pathway for biological aging.

“VITAL is the first large-scale and long-term randomized trial to show that vitamin D supplements protect telomeres and preserve telomere length,” said co-author JoAnn Manson, MD, principal investigator of VITAL and chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system. “This is of particular interest because VITAL had also shown benefits of vitamin D in reducing inflammation and lowering risks of selected chronic diseases of aging, such as advanced cancer and autoimmune disease.”

https://www.massgeneralbrigham.org/en/about/newsroom/press-releases/vitamin-d-supplements-show-signs-of-protection-against-biological-aging