Systematic review and meta‐analysis of the association between paediatric obesity and telomere length

Abstract

Paediatric obesity has become a public health problem worldwide.From 1975 to 2016, the global age-standardised prevalence of paediatric obesity has increased from 0.7% to 5.6% in girls and from 0.9% to 7.8% in boys. 1 Physical inactivity, prolonged sedentary time, unhealthy eating patterns, and an imbalanced diet containing high calories were the main drivers for the increase. 2 In children, obesity can increase the risk of various comorbidities, including type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, and obstructive sleep apnoea. 3,4 Its harmful effects can also persist into adulthood. 5 Adults who were obese during childhood were at higher risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases and cancer. 6,7 Previous studies have also indicated a possible link between obesity and short telomere length. [8][9][10] Telomeres are tandem repeats located at the ends of chromosomes that protect genomic stability and preserve genomic information. 11 In humans, telomeres are composed

RETRACTED: Leukocyte telomere length and obesity in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…In a recent systematic review and meta-analysis by Lin L et al ( Lin et al, 2021 ), a lower LTL was reported in obese children compared to non-obese ones (SMD: −0.85; 95% CI: −1.42 to −0.28; p < 0.01). However, they reported the results by fixed effects model, in which the major assumption is that the true effect is the same in all studies.…”

Association between Telomere Length and Pediatric Obesity: A Systematic Review

“…Obesity and its comorbidities in humans are associated with increased pro- and decreased anti-oxidation, respectively, even in childhood [ 72 , 113 , 115 , 116 ]. Increased levels of oxidative stress are considered detrimental to cell signal transduction [ 117 ], potentially explaining the reported correlation between increased oxidative stress and shorter TL [ 118 , 119 , 120 ]. The adipose tissue plays a role in the production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, as well as in host defense, immunity, and injury response [ 121 ].…”

“…Previous studies have shown a significant inverse relation between the levels of inflammation and TL in both adults [ 78 ] and children [ 136 ]. In obesity, increased adipose tissue results in increased production of pro-inflammatory adipokines and cytokines [ 137 ] and potentially TL shortening [ 106 , 119 ].…”

Issue highlights October 2021

“…Landgren comments on the findings 2 . Readers may also be interested in a systematic review and meta‐analysis by Lin et al on the association between paediatric obesity and telomere length 3 …”