The Association Between Telomere Length and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

IF 2.5 4区医学 Q3 MEDICINE, RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTAL

Current molecular medicine Pub Date : 2025-09-11 DOI:10.2174/0115665240360593250805102356

Sajad Khodabandelu, Susan Jahankhah, Narges Moonesi Shabestari, Yaseen Eghbal, Sara Khaleghi, Amirmohammad Hajizadeh, Seyedeh Zeinab Ghaheri, Mohammadsadegh Jafari, Massoud Vosough, Mohammad Rahmanian

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction: Studies have stated that there has been a close association between the telomere length (TL) and the incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The goal of this report is to explore the possible association between TL and NAFLD.

Methods: This study adhered to the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews. An extensive literature search was conducted in the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science. The "meta" package in the R programming language, version 4.3.1, was used for statistical analysis.

Results: The meta-analysis of the included studies showed a pooled standard mean difference (SMD) of -0.25 (95% CI: -0.39 to -0.10), indicating shorter TL in NAFLD patients. Subgroup analyses revealed significant TL shortening in NAFLD patients with body mass index (BMI) <28 (SMD = -0.68, 95% CI: -0.96 to -0.39) and in case-control (-0.35, 95% CI: -0.51 to -0.20) and cohort studies (-0.68, 95% CI: -1.19 to -0.17). An odds ratio (OR) meta-analysis of six studies found that individuals with short TL had 1.72 times higher odds of NAFLD, which was statistically significant (95% CI: 1.23- 2.42, I2 = 85%). Excluding one study reduced heterogeneity (I2 = 37%) and increased the OR to 1.93 (95% CI: 1.45-2.56), confirming a strong association between short TL and NAFLD risk.

Discussion: The findings suggest a potential link between shorter TL and NAFLD. The odds ratio analyses further emphasized the increased risk of NAFLD in individuals with short TL. Nevertheless, the residual heterogeneity highlights the need for further high-quality, standardized research.

Conclusion: Our findings supported the connection between reduced TL and NAFLD. Regardless of significant between-study diversity, the results remained consistent even after repeated sensitivity evaluations. Despite these findings, the high heterogeneity highlights the need for further well-designed studies to confirm TL as a reliable biomarker for NAFLD risk and progression.

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端粒长度与非酒精性脂肪肝之间的关系：一项系统综述和荟萃分析

研究表明，端粒长度（TL）与非酒精性脂肪性肝病（NAFLD）的发病率密切相关。本报告的目的是探讨TL与NAFLD之间可能的联系。方法：本研究遵循PRISMA指南进行系统评价。在Cochrane图书馆、CINAHL、Scopus、PubMed和Web of Science中进行了广泛的文献检索。使用R编程语言4.3.1版本中的“meta”包进行统计分析。结果：纳入研究的荟萃分析显示，合并标准平均差（SMD）为-0.25 (95% CI: -0.39至-0.10)，表明NAFLD患者的TL较短。亚组分析显示NAFLD患者的身体质量指数（BMI）显著缩短TL。讨论：研究结果提示较短TL与NAFLD之间存在潜在联系。优势比分析进一步强调了短TL患者NAFLD的风险增加。然而，剩余异质性表明需要进一步进行高质量、标准化的研究。结论：我们的研究结果支持TL减少与NAFLD之间的联系。尽管研究之间存在显著的差异，但即使经过反复的敏感性评估，结果仍保持一致。尽管有这些发现，但高异质性强调需要进一步精心设计的研究来证实TL是NAFLD风险和进展的可靠生物标志物。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Current molecular medicine 医学-医学：研究与实验

CiteScore

5.00

自引率

4.00%

发文量

141

审稿时长

4-8 weeks

期刊介绍： Current Molecular Medicine is an interdisciplinary journal focused on providing the readership with current and comprehensive reviews/ mini-reviews, original research articles, short communications/letters and drug clinical trial studies on fundamental molecular mechanisms of disease pathogenesis, the development of molecular-diagnosis and/or novel approaches to rational treatment. The reviews should be of significant interest to basic researchers and clinical investigators in molecular medicine. Periodically the journal invites guest editors to devote an issue on a basic research area that shows promise to advance our understanding of the molecular mechanism(s) of a disease or has potential for clinical applications.