Shorter Telomere Length is Associated with Food Insecurity in Older People: A Cross-Sectional Study

Telomere length has been investigated as a biomarker of biological aging and is associated with several diseases, lifestyle, and socioeconomic factors.

This study aimed to verify whether food insecurity is associated with shorter telomere length in older people.

This is a cross-sectional study carried out in a municipality in the interior of Brazil, with a sample of 440 older people from the community. For telomere length analysis, a blood sample was obtained from each participant, followed by real-time qPCR, and sociodemographic and health information was collected through interviews. Food security/insecurity was measured using the reduced version of the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. Descriptive analysis and multiple logistic regression were performed to analyze the factors associated with shorter telomere length, adopting a significance level of 5%.

We found that food insecurity was significantly associated with shorter telomere length, regardless of age group, skin color, tabagism, physical activity, milk and dairy consumption, living arrangement, and basic activities of daily life.

The findings show the importance of ensuring full access to adequate nutrition for the older population, who are physiologically and socially vulnerable.