Leukocyte telomere length in women with and without polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Aim

To study the telomere length and the telomerase activity in women with and without polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Methods

Relevant studies were searched from PubMed, Embase, and LILACS online databases and manual screening. The mean differences (MDs) or standardized MDs (SMDs) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. The methodological quality of included studies was evaluated with the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS), and heterogeneity with the I² and Tau² statistics.

Results

Six studies including 2109 non-pregnant women with (n = 1155) or without (n = 954) PCOS assessed leukocyte telomere length. There was a non-significant leukocyte telomere length difference (SMD = 0.25, 95% CI: −0.01, 0.51, p = .06, I² = 81%, Tau² = 0.08) comparing PCOS patients with the control group. Studied PCOS women were younger (MD = −1.39, 95% CI: −2.47, −0.31 years, I² = 83%), and had higher body mass index (BMI; MD = 3.66, 95% CI: 2.11, 5.20 kg/m², I² = 94%). There were significantly higher testosterone (SMD = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.65, 1.10) and luteinizing hormone levels (SMD = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.12, 1.08) in women with PCOS as compared to controls. There was a low risk of bias and there were not sufficient studies to meta-analyze other cell types.

Conclusions

Leukocyte telomere length did not differ between women with and without PCOS. Further studies with large sample sizes and including other outcomes are warranted to further substantiate the reported evidence.

摘要

目的：研究多囊卵巢综合征( PCOS )患者和非PCOS患者的端粒长度和端粒酶活性。

方法：从PubMed、Embase和LILACS在线数据库中检索相关研究并进行手工筛选。计算其95%置信区间的平均差异( MDs )或标准化MDs ( SMDs )。采用纽卡斯尔-渥太华量表( NOS )评价纳入研究的方法学质量, 采用I²和Tau²统计异质性。

结果：纳入6项研究共2109名患有( n = 1155 )或不患有( n = 954 ) PCOS的非孕女性进行白细胞端粒长度分析。PCOS患者与对照组相比, 白细胞端粒长度无显著差异( SMD = 0.25,95% CI : -0.01,0.51 , p = 0.06 , I² = 81% , Tau² = 0.08 )。PCOS女性年龄较小( MD = -1.39,95% CI : -2.47,0.31年 , I² = 83% ), 体重指数较高( BMI ; MD = 3.66,95% CI : 2.11,5.20kg/m² , I² = 94% )。PCOS患者睾酮( SMD = 0.88,95% CI : 0.65,1.10 )和黄体生成素( SMD = 0.60,95% CI : 0.12,1.08 )水平明显高于对照组。本Meta分析发生偏倚的风险较低, 尚缺乏足够的研究对其他细胞类型进行Meta分析。

结论：PCOS和非PCOS女性的白细胞端粒长度无差异。有必要进一步开展包含其他结果的大样本量研究, 进一步证实所报告的证据。

Keywords:

• Leukocyte telomere length
• meta-analysis
• polycystic ovary syndrome
• telomerase activity
• telomere length

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest and alone are responsible for the content and the writing of the article.

FRPL, MTLB, GPR, and MT conceived the study. FRPL and MTLB completed the PROSPERO protocol. All authors contributed to the study design. MT, PDP, and ASA carried out the data collection and guaranteed data integrity. MTLB, GPR, and FRPL performed the statistical analysis. FRPL and GPR wrote the first draft. All authors contributed to revision and finalization of the manuscript. FRPL and MT guaranteed all aspects of the reliability and freedom from bias of the presented data and the discussed interpretation.