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Meta-Analysis
. 2018 Nov;32(9):e22599.
doi: 10.1002/jcla.22599. Epub 2018 Jun 26.

Leucocyte telomere length and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: A prospective cohort study and systematic review with meta-analysis

Nixiao Zhang  1 , Chong Fan  1 , Mengqi Gong  1 , Xue Liang  1 , Weili Zhang  2 , Guangping Li  1 , Gary Tse  3   4 , Tong Liu  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Leucocyte telomere length and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: A prospective cohort study and systematic review with meta-analysis

Nixiao Zhang et al. J Clin Lab Anal. 2018 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Telomere length is a surrogate marker of biological aging. Whether telomere length predicts the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) independently of biological aging is controversial. We conducted a cohort study to examine the relationship between telomere length and paroxysmal AF (PAF), followed by a systematic review and meta-analysis of the published literature, incorporating our own data.

Methods: DNA was extracted from peripheral blood. Leucocyte telomere length was measured by a real-time polymerase chain reaction-based method, normalized to a single copy gene, and presented as telomere/single gene ratio (t/s).

Results: A total of 100 non-AF patients and 50 PAF patients (mean age: 61.0 ± 9.4 and 64.0 ± 10.7 years, respectively) were included. T/s for subjects without AF tended to be shorter than for those with AF (0.21 [0.06-0.36] vs 0.28 [0.11-0.71], P = .077). T/s was associated with a 1.60-fold increase in the risk of AF but this was not significant (95% CI: 0.988-2.597, P = .056). Our meta-analysis confirms no difference in telomere length between AF and non-AF patients and t/s was not associated with higher risk of AF in multivariate analysis.

Conclusions: Our prospective data showed that leucocyte telomere length was similar between AF and non-AF patients but was significantly longer in male patients with PAF than those without AF in our subgroup analysis. Our meta-analysis found that t/s did not predict AF. These findings support the notion that chronological aging, but not markers of biological aging, predicts the risk of AF.

Keywords: atrial fibrillation; telomere length; telomere/single gene ratio.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Leucocyte telomere length: subgroup analysis by gender and age
Figure 2
Figure 2
Flow diagram for systematic review of the existing literature
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean difference in telomere length between AF and non‐AF groups
Figure 4
Figure 4
Telomere length and risk of AF in univariate analysis
Figure 5
Figure 5
Telomere length as a continuous variable and risk of AF in multivariate analysis
Figure 6
Figure 6
Telomere length as a categorical variable and risk of AF in multivariate analysis
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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