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Telomere length in patients with osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Abstract

Background

Telomere length (TL) as a biomarker of aging was associated with many age-related diseases. The relationship between TL and osteoarthritis (OA), the most common form of joint diseases, had been investigated in a number of studies, but with the result inconsistent.

Aims

The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the relationship between TL and OA.

Methods

Until January 1, 2021, PubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane Library were comprehensively retrieved for relevant literatures. Quality of included literature was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS) assessment scale. The pooled standard mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) of Leukocytes TL was calculated using random-effect model. Subgroup analysis and meta-regression were used to investigate the potential source of heterogeneity.

Results

Six original studies containing 678 OA patients and 1457 healthy controls were included in this meta-analysis. All six included studies were case–control designed. Pooled results showed that patients with OA had a shorter TL in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) compared with healthy controls, (SMD = − 0.32, 95% CI − 0.57 to − 0.06, Z = − 2.45, P = 0.014). Subgroup and meta-regression analysis showed that sex ratio and body mass index (BMI) were possible sources of heterogeneity. Publication bias was not observed.

Conclusion

The TL of PBLs in patients with OA was shorter than that of healthy controls, suggesting that PBLs TL may be closely associated with the pathogenesis and progression of OA.

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Funding

This study was funded by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [81773514, 82073655] and the funds for academic and technical leaders in Anhui province [2017D140].

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Author notes

  1. Huimin Xie and Yubo Ma contributed equally to this work and should be considered co-first author.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, People’s Republic of China

    Huimin Xie, Yubo Ma, Ming Shao, Jiangping Kong, Tingting Zhou, Feier Wang, Guoqi Cai & Faming Pan

  2. Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China

    Huimin Xie, Yubo Ma, Ming Shao, Jiangping Kong, Tingting Zhou, Feier Wang, Guoqi Cai & Faming Pan

  3. Department of Rheumatism and Immunity, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, Anhui, China

    Shenqian Xu

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  1. Huimin Xie
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Contributions

Corresponding author FP came up with the idea and he is guarantor. Authors JK, FW and TZ performed the literature search. Author MS was responsible for statistical analysis. Authors HX and YM wrote the first draft of the article. Authors SX and GC modified the manuscript. All authors reviewed the paper and approved the final version. All authors agree to be accountable for the work and to ensure that any questions relating to the accuracy and integrity of the paper are investigated and properly resolved.

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Correspondence to Faming Pan.

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Xie, H., Ma, Y., Shao, M. et al. Telomere length in patients with osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Aging Clin Exp Res 34, 495–503 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-021-01944-6

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