Tier 1 — highest

Vitamin D3 and marine ω-3 fatty acids supplementation and leukocyte telomere length: 4-year findings from the VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL) randomized controlled trial

Haidong Zhu, JoAnn E Manson, Nancy R Cook, Bayu B Bekele, Li Chen, Kevin J Kane, Ying Huang, Wenjun Li, William Christen, I-Min Lee, Yanbin Dong
The American journal of clinical nutrition 2025 122(1):39-47

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 40409468
PubMed Central
PMC12308094
DOI
10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.05.003
Trial registry
View on ClinicalTrials.gov Registered trial — results not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Funding
Support is recorded from NCI NIH HHS, NHLBI NIH HHS. See the original publication for grant and material-support details.
Competing interests
The authors report no relevant competing interests.

Study snapshot

DesignRandomized VITAL telomere ancillary study
ModelHuman participants
Sample1,031 participants with telomere measurements; 2,571 samples
InterventionVitamin D3 2,000 IU/day or placebo in the VITAL factorial trial
Duration4 years
EndpointsLeukocyte telomere-length change

What the study showed, in plain terms

This publication examines leukocyte telomere-length change. Study population or evidence base: 1,031 participants with telomere measurements; 2,571 samples. Intervention or exposure: Vitamin D3 2,000 IU/day or placebo in the VITAL factorial trial.

Key findings

Vitamin D3 reduced telomere shortening by an estimated 140 base pairs relative to placebo over four years. Omega-3 did not significantly affect this endpoint.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Telomere length is a surrogate biomarker. The result does not demonstrate extra years of life, reversal of aging or efficacy of a different dose or combined retail product.

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