Research Unit-Genetic Epidemiology, Gottfried Schatz Research Centre for Cell Signaling, Metabolism and Aging, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria.
Department of Neurology, Clinical Division of Neurogeriatrics, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria.
Ageing Res Rev. 2022 Sep;80:101679. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2022.101679. Epub 2022 Jun 29.
The current evidence on the association of leukocyte telomere length (LTL) with age-related structural and cognitive changes in the brain is mixed. Herein conforming to PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis using data from 27 observational studies in non-demented individuals. We used effect size and p-value based meta-analysis methods considering marked heterogeneity among studies. We found that the longer LTL was associated with higher brain volume (β = 0.43, 95%CI: 0.36-0.50%, p = 0.008, N = 1102) and with higher global cognition (β = 0.01; 95%CI: 0.00-0.02, p = 0.03, N = 19609) by effect size based meta-analysis and with brain volume, hippocampal volume, global cognition, cognitive domains of attention/speed as well as executive functions by p-value based meta-analysis. No significant association of LTL with brain white matter hyperintensities was detected. Furthermore, the evidence strongly suggests a subgroup-specific canonical effect of telomeres, notably in older individuals and females. In conclusion, we provide meta-analytic evidence on the beneficial effect of telomeres on brain structure as well as cognition and advocate for a beneficial subgroup-specific effect that warrants further attention.
目前关于白细胞端粒长度（LTL）与大脑与年龄相关的结构和认知变化之间的关联的证据是混杂的。在此，我们根据 PRISMA 2020 指南，使用来自 27 项非痴呆个体的观察性研究的数据进行了系统评价和荟萃分析。我们使用了考虑到研究之间存在明显异质性的基于效应量和 p 值的荟萃分析方法。我们发现，较长的 LTL 与更高的大脑体积（β=0.43，95%CI：0.36-0.50%，p=0.008，N=1102）和更高的整体认知能力（β=0.01；95%CI：0.00-0.02，p=0.03，N=19609）相关，通过基于效应量的荟萃分析，以及通过基于 p 值的荟萃分析与大脑体积、海马体积、整体认知、注意力/速度认知域和执行功能相关。未检测到 LTL 与大脑白质高信号之间存在显著关联。此外，证据强烈表明端粒具有亚组特异性的典型效应，特别是在老年人和女性中。总之，我们提供了关于端粒对大脑结构以及认知有益影响的荟萃分析证据，并主张进一步关注具有有益亚组特异性效应的证据。
