Telomere length is considered to be a biomarker of biological aging and age-related disease. There are few studies that have evaluated the association between telomere length and diet, and none of them have evaluated the impact of a vegetarian diet on telomere length and its correlation with cardiovascular biomarkers in apparently healthy subjects. Therefore, our objectives were to evaluate leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in vegetarians and omnivorous subjects and its association with classical cardiovascular risk biomarkers. From the total of 745 participants initially recruited, 44 omnivorous and 44 vegetarian men apparently healthy were selected for this study and LTL was measured in 39 omnivorous and 41 vegetarians by Real-Time Quantitative PCR reaction. Although telomere length was not different between omnivorous and vegetarians, we found a strong negative correlation between LTL and IMT (intima-media thickness) in omnivorous, but not in vegetarian group. In addition, omnivorous who were classified with short telomere length had higher carotid IMT compared to vegetarians. Our data suggest that telomere length can be a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis in the omnivorous group.

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Objective: The most important cause of uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) is a poor adherence to healthy lifestyle and drug treatment. New technologies have provided tools for a better monitoring of the patient and an improvement of treatment adherence by educational and motivational issues. We aim to present a new approach for patient monitoring at home by a software application (APP) designed to run on a mobile device developed to improve BP control, healthy life style and medication adherence, and quality of life of patients with uncontrolled BP Design and method: The APP was developed by an interdisciplinary team including members of a company of artificial intelligence, doctors and other health professional (nutritionist, physical educator, and nurse) and the innovation department of the Hospital. Results: The APP (see figure) allows the insertion of BP values measured at home and the list of medications that the patient routinely uses, that can be done manually or by voice system, which is recognized when the patient verbally informs BP values or drugs on use. Also, the patient can interact with the system by answering questions automatically issued regarding physical activity and sodium intake. The APP has warning systems where, from certain information provided by the patient regarding BP values or symptoms, the nursing and/or medical team will contact the patient to provide the adequate management. The APP will be introduced in the outpatient clinic of the hospital and will be offered for the patients with uncontrolled BP despite drug treatment). Conclusions: The use of new technologies by APP can be introduced in the clinical practice to improve BP control and adherence to antihypertensive medications and healthy lifestyle providing a strong interaction between patients and healthcare team by distance monitoring. This approach could be extremely useful for underserved patients or during pandemic conditions