The association between obstructive sleep apnea and shortened telomere length: a systematic review and meta-analysis.


Author: Huang P1, Zhou J2, Chen S2, Zou C2, Zhao X1, Li J3

Affiliation: <sup>1</sup>Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, People's Republic of China.

<sup>2</sup>Geriatrics Department, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.

<sup>3</sup>West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: jp-li@163.com.
Conference/Journal: Sleep Med.
Date published: 2017 Dec 14
Other:
 Volume ID: 48   ,  Pages: 107-112   ,  Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2017.09.034. [Epub ahead of print]   ,  Word Count: 231  
    OBJECTIVE: We aimed to provide a more precise estimate of the relationship between telomere length and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by systematically reviewing evidence.



METHOD: We conducted a systematic electronic search in the databases of the PUBMED, PsycINFO, OVID (Medline), EMBASE and other resources (such as Google Scholar). The methodological quality of the articles was assessed according to the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. Heterogeneity was assessed using the chi-square test for Cochrane's Q statistic and I-squared. When heterogeneity was found to be reasonably high between studies, the random-effects model with the mean difference (95% confidence interval [CI]) was conducted using RevMan 5 software by using the inverse variance method (P < 0.05; chi-square test). By contrast, the fixed-effects model was carried out.



RESULTS: Eight eligible studies involving 2639 participants were included in our meta-analysis. Shortened telomere length was significantly associated with OSA with mean difference of -0.03 (95% CI: -0.06, -0.00; P = 0.003 with I-square of 85%）. The results of subgroup analysis preformed by age and sample number suggested that shorter telomere length was significantly associated with OSA, with mean difference of -0.07 (95% CI: -0.07, -0.01; P = 0.005) for adult group and -0.04 (95% CI: -0.02, -0.06; P = 0.005) for large-sample studies.



CONCLUSION: Compared to healthy people, individuals with OSA have shorter telomere lengths which implicates early intervention and timely treatment for preventing future adverse outcomes.



Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.



KEYWORDS: Meta-analysis; Sleep apnea; Telomere length



PMID: 29883927  DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2017.09.034