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Approved Research

Investigating the causal association between nutrition, metabolism, telomere length and age-related diseases using genetic instruments

Principal Investigator: Professor Yuan Luo
Approved Research ID: 75381
Approval date: November 30th 2021

Lay summary

Telomere length is often considered a biomarker for the biological ageing process and age-related disorders like cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Previous studies have associated telomere length with metabolomic and nutritional features. However, whether different metabolomic profiles and dietary patterns have a causal impact on telomere shortening remains unclear. Additionally, we need to examine whether nutrition influences telomere length through human metabolism.

In this project, we focus on identifying interactions and causal associations between nutrition, metabolism, telomere length variation and age-related diseases. Our aim is to gain a better understanding of the human ageing process by characterising how different nutritional profiles (nutrients, foods, and dietary patterns) may impact human metabolism, and in turn, telomere length and age-related diseases. Our results will provide insights on human ageing mechanisms, which may guide us towards the aims of increasing active human longevity and improving the quality of life in elderly people.