Leucocyte telomere length and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: A prospective cohort study and systematic review with meta‐analysis. Issue 9 (26th June 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Nixiao; Fan, Chong; Gong, Mengqi; Liang, Xue; Zhang, Weili; Li, Guangping; Tse, Gary; Liu, Tong
• Is Part Of: Journal of clinical laboratory analysis. Volume 32:Issue 9(2018)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2018-06-26
• Subjects: atrial fibrillation -- telomere length -- telomere/single gene ratio; Diagnosis, Laboratory -- Periodicals; Medical laboratory technology -- Periodicals; 616
• DOI: 10.1002/jcla.22599
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0887-8013

Abstract

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.