The Effect of Vitamin B12 Supplementation on Leukocyte Telomere Length in Mildly Stunted Nepalese Children: A Secondary Outcome of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Manjeswori Ulak; Ingrid Kvestad; Ram K Chandyo; Catherine Schwinger; Sudha Basnet; Merina Shrestha; Suman Ranjitkar; Linda Vy Nguyen; Diana Corona-Pérez; Immaculata De Vivo; Per M Ueland; Adrian McCann; Tor A Strand

doi:10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.10.015

The Effect of Vitamin B₁₂ Supplementation on Leukocyte Telomere Length in Mildly Stunted Nepalese Children: A Secondary Outcome of a Randomized Controlled Trial

J Nutr. 2023 Oct 31:S0022-3166(23)72669-2. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.10.015. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Centre for International Health, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.
² Regional Centre for Child and Youth - Mental Health and Child Welfare, Norwegian Research Centre, Bergen, Norway; Department of Research, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Lillehammer, Norway.
³ Department of Community Medicine, Kathmandu Medical College, Kathmandu, Nepal.
⁴ Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Centre for International Health, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.
⁶ Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA; United States and Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital - Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
⁷ Bevital AS, Bergen, Norway.
⁸ Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Centre for International Health, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; Department of Research, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Lillehammer, Norway. Electronic address: tor.strand@uib.no.

PMID: 37918674
DOI: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.10.015

Abstract

Background: Vitamin B₁₂ is essential for deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis and genome stability. A deficiency of vitamin B₁₂ is associated with telomere shortening, genomic aging, and increased risk of chronic disease and mortality.

Objectives: The study aims to determine the effect of vitamin B₁₂ supplementation on leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in infants at risk of vitamin B₁₂ deficiency.

Methods: The study was a predefined secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial enrolling 600 Nepalese infants aged 6 -11 mo, who were supplemented with 2 μg (2-3 recommended daily allowances) vitamin B₁₂ or placebo daily for 1 y. At the end of the study, LTL was measured in 497 participants. Mean LTL was compared between the treatment arms in the full sample and predefined subgroups based on markers of vitamin B₁₂ status, hemoglobin, sex, and growth indices.

Results: LTL at end-study did not differ between the vitamin B₁₂ and placebo arm with a standardized mean difference (95% confidence interval) of 0.04 (-0.14, 0.21). There was no effect of vitamin B₁₂ on LTL in any of the subgroups.

Conclusions: Providing daily vitamin B₁₂ for 1 y during infancy in a population at risk of vitamin B₁₂ deficiency does not affect LTL. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02272842.

Keywords: Nepal; children; leukocyte telomere length; vitamin B(12) supplementation.

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT02272842